| Putin, Trump to hold talks at G20 summit: Kremlin
Mu Xuequan Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump will hold a meeting on Friday on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) summit, during which they will discuss a number of bilateral and regional issues, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Wednesday….”The issues (on the agenda) are logical: the general state of bilateral relations, strategic stability and numerous regional conflicts, including Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Venezuela, obviously Iran and so on,” Ushakov was quoted by Sputnik news agency as saying…In particular, the leaders will discuss the general situation in Syria and the joint work by the two countries on normalizing the situation there (More).
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Making Sense of the ASEAN Summit Joshua Kurlantzick Last weekend’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, held in Bangkok, yielded several notable accomplishments. But several of the announced breakthroughs actually contain less than meets the eye…At the ASEAN summit, leaders from the ten Southeast Asian nations vowed to rapidly push forward the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which also includes non-ASEAN states including Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and others…ASEAN states came together and jointly announced their vision for the Indo-Pacific region, after some doubts voiced from Singapore and other members as the vision took shape in the months prior to the summit…Before the summit, ministers from ASEAN states like Malaysia, and many rights organizations, applied pressure on the Myanmar government to offer the Rohingya Myanmar citizenship after violence in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state (More).
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Southeast Asian nations vow to combat plastic debris in oceans The Asahi Shimbun, June 23, 2019 Southeast Asian nations vowed on Saturday to fight against plastic pollution in the ocean, as their leaders adopted a joint declaration during a summit in Bangkok. The Bangkok Declaration on Combating Marine Debris in ASEAN Region was adopted by leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which includes four of the world’s top polluters. ASEAN members Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand, along with worst offender China, throw the most plastic waste into oceans, according to a 2015 report co-authored by environmental campaigner Ocean Conservancy (More).
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| Australia’s one step forward, two steps back in the Pacific
Joanne Wallis In 2016, former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull expressed Australia’s commitment to a ‘step-change’ in its engagement with the Pacific Islands. The 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper sketched the skeleton of this ‘step-up’ but it wasn’t until 2018 that those bones were fleshed out. While Australia is set to implement several meaningful labour mobility, security and diplomatic initiatives, simultaneously counterproductive domestically driven policies could undermine the ability of those programs to improve engagement with Pacific Island states…Australia has committed to the expanded Pacific Maritime Security Program and to assistance focussed on threats to maritime and cyber security (More).
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Modi, Duterte, Widodo have something in common – and it’s not just winning elections Karim Raslan This year, India, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia all held elections. About 1 billion voters were involved, all within a few weeks of one another. On the ground, the elections provided a study in contrasts…These differences aside, now that the dust has settled, what can be learned? Five points have emerged…It would appear – with notable exceptions – the strongmen have prevailed in Asia. One can only hope the democracy and pluralism of these nations are stronger than their electoral cycles and that, more importantly, the lot of their people can be improved (More).
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PM Modi meets Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of SCO summit in Bishkek The Hindu, June 13, 2019 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek. Mr. Modi arrived in the Kyrgyz capital on June 13 for the SCO summit, the first multilateral engagement post his re-election. The SCO is a China-led 8-member economic and security bloc with India and Pakistan being admitted to the grouping in 2017…Later, Mr Modi also met Russian President Vladimir Putin and the two leaders reviewed all aspect of bilateral relations to further strengthen the bilateral strategic relationship (More).
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Mounting Pollution at Home Threatens South Korea’s Leadership on Climate Policy Ellen Laipson Most of the time, the existential issue of North Korea dominates dialogue between South Korea and its major allies and neighbors. But…Seoul, this fast-changing and dynamic society is beginning to see climate and environmental hazards as real priorities, too. As South Korea establishes its place as a G-20 developed economy and looks for ways to take on more responsibility in global governance, the tough tradeoffs between its economic growth and its adaptation to climate realities are becoming clearer…In the world of climate politics, South Korea sits in an uncomfortable place. It is still considered a developing country, by the terms created more than 30 years ago by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, when intergovernmental meetings to coordinate climate action were just swinging into gear (More).
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Singapore to see sharpest slowdown in South-east Asia this year with 1.9% GDP growth: Report The Straits Times, June 4, 2019 Singapore is expected to experience the sharpest economic slowdown in South-east Asia, with gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowing from 3.1 per cent in 2018 to 1.9 per cent this year, as its export outlook deteriorates following more tariff hikes from the US and China, said the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) in a report on Tuesday (June 4)…This is in tandem with its forecast that economic growth in South-east Asia is also expected to decelerate, on the back of weaker Chinese import demand, a slowdown in the global ICT (information and communications technology) cycle, and an increase in trade protectionism over the past year (More).
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ASEAN, Japan to Strengthen Ties ASEAN and Japan Senior Officials participating in the 34th ASEAN-Japan Forum in Hanoi yesterday reaffirmed the importance of the ASEAN-Japan Strategic Partnership and the commitment to further strengthen the close ties. The meeting welcomed the continued momentum of advancing ASEAN-Japan relations, including the positive outcomes of the Leaders’ Summit on the 45th Anniversary of Dialogue Relations last November. ASEAN acknowledged Japan’s important role as a key trade and investment partner of ASEAN, and valued Japan’s continuous strong support for ASEAN Community-building efforts. Looking forward, the two sides stressed the need to work closely to deepen the multifaceted cooperation outlined in the 2013 Vision Statement on ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation and its Implementation Plan (More).
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| Shangri-La Dialogue: How South-east Asia can navigate Sino-US competition
Prashanth Parameswaran Given the ongoing tensions between the United States and China, it is a safe bet that the Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) that kicks off this weekend will include another round of US-China barb-trading. But beyond the expected headlines this will generate, it is worth thinking about what rising US-China competition means for South-east Asia and how the region can navigate it. South-east Asia is no stranger to managing changes in major power relations. Asean was founded in the midst of the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union. And South-east Asian states have had to recalibrate their own approaches amid changes in US-China relations, be it the full normalisation of ties in 1979 or in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 (More).
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US will work closely with ‘great ally’ India: Trump The Pioneer, May 30, 2019 India is a ‘great ally’ and “partner” of the US and the Trump administration will work closely with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his second term on a range of issues, a senior State Department official said Tuesday. State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus also said that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was looking forward to have a “robust discussion” with his Indian counterpart on a wide range of issues. The Trump administration, including President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Pompeo, congratulated Prime Minister Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party on the spectacular electoral victory in the Lok Sabha elections (More).
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Myanmar: Military commits war crimes in latest operation in Rakhine State Amnesty International, May 29, 2019 Following a recent investigation in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, Amnesty International has gathered new evidence that the Myanmar military is committing war crimes and other human rights violations. The military operation is ongoing, raising the prospect of additional crimes being committed…Amnesty International conducted 81 interviews, including 54 interviews on the ground in Rakhine State in late March 2019 and 27 remote interviews with people living in conflict-affected areas. They included ethnic Rakhine, Mro, Rohingya and Khami villagers, belonging to the Buddhist, Christian and Muslim faiths (More).
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Narendra Modi and the BJP’s desire to advance Hindu interests won’t help India realise its ambitions Sushil Aaron
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi stormed into a second term in office by powering his right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to victory last week. The scale of the triumph, securing 37 per cent of the vote and 303 of 542 seats in the lower house of parliament, was bigger than his first in 2014. Sections of India, particularly its liberal intelligentsia, were shocked about his return to power, given that he seemed to have done everything to be voted out. Modi’s decision to demonetise high-value currency notes in 2016 ravaged the informal economy; a new sales tax compounded difficulties for business; agrarian distress became widespread and unemployment hit new highs. The social climate in the country was damaged by his party and supporters, through regular hate speech and violence directed at Muslims and other minorities (More).
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Lessons from AANZFTA for regional integration Melissa Conley Tyler At the end of April 2019, ASEAN officials descended on Melbourne to discuss AANZFTA: the ASEAN–Australia–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, which turns 10 years old in 2019…AANZFTA was launched with much fanfare. It was ASEAN’s first region-to-region trade agreement, Australia’s first multi-country free trade agreement, the first time Australia and New Zealand were involved in joint negotiations and the first time ASEAN embarked on comprehensive negotiations covering all sectors simultaneously…AANZFTA can be seen as a successful model relevant to the current RCEP negotiations, particularly in promoting economic integration. It suggests that there is value in getting an agreement in place and starting the processes that will enable ongoing efforts towards integration. AANZFTA has been operating and delivering since just before RCEP negotiations began (More).
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Jakarta riots: Indonesian president says he will not tolerate threats to unity Kate Lamb
Political tension over disputed election results spilled into angry clashes for a second consecutive night in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, with protesters hurling rocks and firecrackers at police, who responded with tear gas. Thousands gathered at Indonesia’s election supervisory agency on Wednesday, protesting against what they claimed was widespread fraud in the 17 April presidential poll…Parts of central Jakarta were in a security lockdown, with streets cordoned off with rolls of barbed wire, central transport stations shut, and 30,000 police and military troops on standby (More).
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ASEAN, China to further enhance strategic partnership ASEAN Secretariat News, May 19, 2019 ASEAN and the People’s Republic of China agreed to strengthen economic ties and discussed future direction of their strategic partnership at the 25th ASEAN-China Senior Officials’ Consultation held yesterday in Hangzhou, China. Both sides reaffirmed the importance of their strategic partnership. China reiterated that it would always make ASEAN as a priority in neighbourhood diplomacy and firmly support ASEAN Community building and ASEAN Centrality in East Asia cooperation. Both sides welcomed the progress in the implementation of the decisions made by the Leaders of ASEAN and China at the 21stASEAN-China Summit held in Singapore in November 2018. The senior officials noted the progress ASEAN and China achieved over the past year in a wide-range of areas such as connectivity, education, human resource development, science and technology, culture and information, media, and digital economy (More).
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Between hope and fear: national security and the Indian elections Deepa Ollapally The drumbeat of national security is hard to miss in this Indian election season. If history is any guide for India’s current turbulent politics, Indian voters are rarely moved to cast their vote based on a party’s particular foreign policy. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders are putting a lot of weight behind security issues, suggesting that they are not confident running on their five-year domestic record alone…This dramatic show of force by the BJP government drew national accolades. Yet in the general elections just a few months later, Indian voters handed the Party a completely unexpected blow by voting it out. The Congress Party, which had been all but written off, then led a victorious coalition into government. Retrospectively, most analysts blamed the BJP’s defeat on rising inflation, especially in common consumer items like onions (More).
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ASEAN Secretariat News, May 14, 2019 Secretary-General of ASEAN, H.E. Dato Lim Jock Hoi, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, H.E. Taro Kono, signed the Agreement on Technical Cooperation between ASEAN and the Government of Japan on 13 May 2019 in Tokyo. The Agreement sets out a legal framework for Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to provide direct assistance to ASEAN as an international organization. The signing of this Agreement is an important step forward to further strengthen ASEAN-Japan cooperation. The Secretary-General of ASEAN is in Tokyo at the invitation of Foreign Minister Kono. On this occasion, he is also scheduled to meet with a number of other Japanese Ministers, Senior Officials and business leaders to discuss issues of mutual interest (More).
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Against The Tide Of Humanity – Brunei’s New Penal Code Forbes, May 13, 2019 On 3 April 2019, the new Brunei penal code, the Syariah Penal Code Order 2013, came fully into force. It has paved the way for the implementation of draconian punishments for various offences and for acts that, objectively, should not be a crime…Among others, the new penal code sanctions a wider application of the death penalty. Brunei retained the death penalty in law. However, in practice, the death penalty has not been carried out in Brunei since 1957. The new penal code stipulates the death penalty as a punishment for adultery, intercourse between two men and for insult or defamation of the Prophet Mohammad (More).
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As South Korea’s Economy Sputters, Moon Needs a Breakthrough With North Korea Elliot Waldman As South Korean President Moon Jae-in heads into his third year in office this week, he faces a familiar political burden. Ever since South Korea’s transition to democracy in the late 1980s, its presidents have been limited to a single five-year term…Recent public opinion polls show that Moon is not immune to this trend. A survey conducted by Gallup Korea last week found that 45 percent of South Koreans approve of Moon’s performance as president. That is a respectable number and is actually higher than most of his predecessors after two years in office, but it is a far cry from the 83 percent approval he enjoyed in April 2018, just after the first inter-Korean summit he held with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in the border village of Panmunjom (More).
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Financial warning lights are flashing red in Asia The April edition of the IMF’s Global Financial Stability Report makes uncomfortable reading for all of us in Asia. The report ranks regions and sectors according to how vulnerable they are to financial shocks, using a traffic-light system to highlight problematic areas. The number of lights flashing red in Asia suggests now is a good time for Asian policymakers to get their houses in order. There are particular concerns around China. Large, opaque and heavily-indebted off-balance sheet investment vehicles are highlighted as a source of particular vulnerability. Maturity and liquidity mismatches are rife, the balance sheets of small and medium-sized banks are weak and the risk of further policy easing to boost growth without deeper reforms are a cause for concern (More).
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Tightening the belt and road in Malaysia Stewart Nixon Among the central narratives that swept the Mahathir Mohamad-led coalition into power in 2018 were two intricately interwoven accusations levelled at the former government. First, that Barisan Nasional’s shady dealings were burdening the Malaysian people with unsustainable debt and second, that by cosying up to China the party was putting self-interest ahead of national interest…Bilateral relations cannot be abstracted from the broader context of the US–China trade war and the contest reshaping the global order. A Mahathir-led Malaysia has never shirked from calling out the self-interested and bullying behaviour of major powers while advancing regional forums that give greater voice to smaller nations (More).
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ASEAN, India to deepen strategic partnership ASEAN Secretariat News, April 15, 2019 Senior officials from ASEAN and India reaffirmed their strong commitment to take the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership to a greater height at the 21st ASEAN-India Senior Officials’ Meeting (AISOM) held in New Delhi, India, on 11-12 April. They discussed the ways and means to further strengthen cooperation in a number of areas, including combating terrorism, violent extremism and transnational crimes; maritime cooperation; enhanced regional connectivity; trade and financial; investment and economic cooperation; climate change; agriculture; disaster management; science and technology; education; cultural and people to people linkages; sustainable development; and narrowing the development gaps…The meeting reviewed progress made in the implementation of decisions made by the Leaders at the Informal ASEAN-India Breakfast Summit in November last year as well as the Plan of Action to Implement the ASEAN-India Partnership for Peace, Progress and Shared Prosperity (2016-2020) (More).
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ASEAN, China to continue enhancing partnership ASEAN Secretariat News, April 11, 2019 ASEAN and China reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen their strategic partnership at the 20th ASEAN-China Joint Cooperation Committee (ACJCC) meeting held on 9 April at the ASEAN Secretariat. The meeting welcomed the significant progress made in the implementation of the ASEAN-China Plan of Action 2016-2020 which includes the large number of activities and projects implemented in more than 82% of the identified action lines. The ASEAN-China Year of Media Exchange was launched in January in Jakarta and in February in Beijing, and a joint statement on media exchanges is expected to be issued by the ASEAN-China Summit in November this year (More).
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Are Russia and China Really Forming an Alliance? Leon Aron In March of 1969, Chinese troops ambushed and killed a Soviet border patrol on an island near the Chinese-Russian border. Fighting on and near the island lasted for months and ended with hundreds of casualties. Fifty years later, the ferocity of the skirmish between Mao Zedong’s China and Leonid Brezhnev’s Soviet Union seems to belong to a very distant past—so distant, indeed, that many foreign-policy experts are convinced that an anti-U.S. alliance between the two countries is emerging…More than three-quarters of Russia’s exports to China are raw materials, specifically crude oil, wood, and coal. China’s sales to Russia are 45 percent consumer goods and 38 percent electronics and machinery (More).
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Time for thinking the Australia–India relationship afresh Priya Chacko Australia–India engagement has accelerated over the last few years. In 2014, the Indian prime minister visited Australia after a gap of 28 years. Three years later during former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull’s state visit to India, the two countries proclaimed themselves ‘partners in the Indo-Pacific’. Recent signs suggest that the Australia–India strategic relationship has been put in the fridge. The formation of the Japan–America–India (JAI) partnership — ‘jai’ meaning ‘victory’ in Hindi — at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires in December 2018 is cause for Australian concern. India’s unwillingness to invite Australia to participate in the Malabar naval exercise, despite Australian lobbying, has also sparked speculation over the fate of the Quadrilateral Consultative Dialogue (the ‘Quad) involving India, Australia, Japan and the United States (More).
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India boycotts China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for the 2nd time Asian Age, March 20, 2019 India on Wednesday signalled that it will boycott China’s second Belt and Road Forum for a second time, saying no country can participate in an initiative that ignores its core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity. India boycotted the first Belt and Road Forum (BRF) in 2017 after protesting to Beijing over the controversial China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which is being laid through the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) overriding New Delhi’s sovereignty concerns. Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently said that next month China plans to hold a much bigger, second BRF which will also be attended by Pakistan Prime Minster Imran Khan (More).
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ASEAN, New Zealand explore more cooperation opportunities ASEAN Secretariat News, March 20, 2019 ASEAN and New Zealand reaffirmed their strong ties and agreed to explore opportunities to further strengthen the strategic partnership at the 26th ASEAN-New Zealand Dialogue in Wellington, New Zealand yesterday. During the meeting, ASEAN senior officials expressed condolences to the government and people of New Zealand over the terrorist attacks in Christchurch on 15 March…The meeting exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest and concern, including developments in the South China Sea and the Korean Peninsula, and highlighted the importance of an ASEAN-centred regional architecture, rules-based international order and multilateral trading system (More).
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Trump’s Hanoi Walkout Upends South Korean Politics Frida Ghitis
When President Donald Trump stunned the world last year by agreeing to hold a summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un—the first-ever meeting between an American president and a North Korean head of state—it felt like a punch in the gut to South Korean conservatives. Hard-liners on North Korea, they were already roiling from corruption scandals that had brought down President Park Geun-hye with massive protests in 2016 and led to the election of President Moon Jae-in (More).
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ASEAN intensifies efforts in promoting and protecting the rights of women and children ASEAN continues promoting the welfare and protect the rights of women and children collectively as representatives convened for the 18th ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) Meeting at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta on 4 March…ACWC also affirmed its contributions to ASEAN’s cooperation on promoting social protection, through the implementation of the Regional Framework and Action Plan on Implementing the Declaration on the Promotion of Social Protection in ASEAN, as well as the implementation of the ASEAN Enabling Master Plan 2025: Mainstreaming the Rights of Persons with Disabilities…Through the meeting’s open session, representatives continued to strengthen ASEAN’s partnership with the Dialogue Partners, such as the United States through the ASEAN-USAID PROSPECT, and with international organisations such as UNICEF and UN Women (More).
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China February exports tumble the most in three years, spur fears of ‘trade recession’ Stella Qiu, Ryan Woo China’s exports tumbled the most in three years in February while imports fell for a third straight month, pointing to a further slowdown in the economy and stirring talk of a “trade recession”, despite a spate of support measures…Global investors and China’s major trading partners are closely watching Beijing’s policy reactions as economic growth cools from last year’s 28-year low. But the government has vowed it will not resort to massive stimulus like in the past, which helped revive demand worldwide…The increasingly weak China data comes amid months of intense negotiations between Washington and Beijing aimed at ending their trade dispute (More).
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The Problem With Xi’s China Model Elizabeth C. Economy As China’s National People’s Congress and its advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, gather this March in Beijing for their annual two-week sessions to discuss the country’s challenges and path forward, President Xi Jinping may well be tempted to take a victory lap. Within his first five years in office, he has pioneered his own style of Chinese politics, at last upending the model Deng Xiaoping established 30 years ago…Xi has given few signals publicly that anything has gone awry: the first speeches of his second term even suggest that he is doubling down on his current approach. Doing so will only exacerbate the challenges that are emerging. But fortunately, because most of the country’s current problems are of Xi’s own making, he still has both the time and the power to correct his course (More).
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Rohingya crisis: UN investigates its ‘dysfunctional’ conduct in Myanmar Emanuel Stoakes and Hannah Ellis-Petersen The Guardian, February 27, 2019 The UN has launched an inquiry into its conduct in Myanmar over the past decade, where it has been accused of ignoring warning signs of escalating violence prior to an alleged genocide of the Rohingya minority. UN sources have confirmed to the Guardian that the initially hesitant UN secretary general, António Guterres, decided to proceed with the investigation after a “build-up in pressure” within the organisation. It will be headed by Gert Rosenthal, a former foreign minister and Guatemalan permanent representative to the UN, who is thought to have begun overseeing meetings in the role (More).
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Vietnam summit: What does Kim want? Richard Javad Heydarian When North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un and the US President Donald Trump meet for the second time later this week in Vietnam, they will have to talk business. Their first summit last year in nearby Singapore was largely an icebreaker, an historic event that was undoubtedly an enormous achievement in itself. However, it failed to produce any concrete plan of action or commitments from either side…This time around, however, there is a growing demand for concrete concessions, especially from the North Korean leader, who has yet to secure sanctions relief. Kim will have to get concrete results from this summit if he is to realise his grand plan for North Korea, but he will have to also offer something in exchange (More).
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ASEAN, Russia commit to deepen cooperation ASEAN Secretariat News, February 21, 2019 Upon the elevation of the ASEAN-Russia partnership to strategic level at the 3rd ASEAN-Russia Summit, Russia reaffirmed its commitment to further deepen and substantiate cooperation with ASEAN in the areas of, among others, science and technology, energy, connectivity, information and communication technology, education, health, trade and investment, and in combating transnational crime, drugs trafficking, including through maximising utilisation of ASEAN-Russia Dialogue Partnership Financial Fund (ARDPFF) to facilitate ASEAN-Russia cooperative projects…The meeting also touched upon regional and international issues of mutual interest and concern. ASEAN senior officials noted with appreciation Russia’s substantial participation and contribution to the ASEAN-led fora and mechanisms, such as the ASEAN Regional Forum, the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus and the East Asia Summit (More).
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Russia may be forced to aim weapons at Washington, suggests Putin Andrew Roth Vladimir Putin has said that Russia will develop new weapons and aim them at western “centres of decision-making” if the west deploys new short and medium-range missiles in Europe…While Russia is believed to already target Washington and other western cities with traditional intercontinental ballistic missiles, Putin’s speech revealed details about ongoing Russian weapons projects, including a hypersonic missile named Tsirkon that could travel up to 1,000km and would be able to strike land targets. The Russian defence secretary, Sergei Shoigu, this month appeared to say it was being modified to be launched from land as well (More).
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Australia’s offshore refugee policy has failed Anna Neistat Last week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government suffered an unprecedented defeat, as Parliament passed a law making it easier for refugees from offshore locations to receive medical treatment in Australia. This may not sound like a ground-breaking development, particularly since the government now intends to reopen a detention centre on the Australian territory of Christmas Island. But the law’s significance is clear when you consider that for years, Australia’s ministry of immigration refused to transfer even critically ill patients from Manus and Nauru to Australia – saying it would be easier for them to get legal assistance and stay in the country (More).
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Why Russia is standing aloof on the Korean Peninsula Artyom Lukin For more than a year there has been a flurry of diplomatic activity on the Korean Peninsula. But Russia is conspicuously absent from the big game. President Vladimir Putin is yet to meet his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un, who has already held four summits with Chinese President Xi Jinping, three meetings with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and one rendezvous with US President Donald Trump….The Kremlin’s main geopolitical game at present is in the Middle East, not East Asia. In the wake of Russia’s intervention in Syria, Putin has emerged as the kingpin of the Middle East. This region is now consuming much of Moscow’s foreign policy bandwidth, raising the question of how much is left to spare elsewhere. This is not to say Moscow ignores the Korean Peninsula. But it treats the Peninsula as more or less a secondary priority on the list of Russian foreign policy concerns (More).
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How China and the U.S. Are Competing for Young Minds in Southeast Asia Kristine Lee Business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month warned that China has overtaken the United States in the development of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, such as fifth-generation wireless or 5G…The attention on China’s rapidly evolving tech sector has overshadowed another area of competition between Beijing and Washington, which may be moving more slowly but is just as consequential: the battle for young minds. Nowhere is this competition to educate and attract younger generations more pronounced than in Southeast Asia, with its youthful demographics, fast-growing economies and array of geopolitical flashpoints (More).
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ASEAN-Indian youth build connection through dialogue ASEAN Secretariat News, February 3, 2019 ASEAN and Indian youth representatives met at the 2nd ASEAN-India Youth Summit to strengthen connectivity and continue fostering mutual understanding in Guwahati, Assam, India. Held under the theme “Connectivity is the Pathway to Shared Prosperity,” the summit provided a platform for around 200 youths from ASEAN and India to discuss cultural and historical linkages, skills development for youth, and North East as India’s Gateway to ASEAN…The ASEAN-India Youth Summit was established to facilitate socio-cultural exchanges between countries in the region, and to further strengthen the values of tolerance, pluralism and diversity. The Summit is organised by the India Foundation and the Indian Ministry of External Affairs with funding from the ASEAN-India Fund. The summit is a continuation of the 1st ASEAN India Youth Summit held in 2017 in Bhopal, India to commemorate 25 Years of ASEAN-India Relations (More).
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Will the US and China finally agree a trade deal? BBC News, January 30, 2019 Top trade officials from the US and China are meeting in Washington as a deadline to strike a deal approaches. This is the second round of talks since Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met in Argentina last year and agreed to negotiate in the hope of defusing an escalating tariff war. There is widespread scepticism that the two sides can reach a substantive deal by the 1 March deadline. Recent charges against Huawei have added to the complications. At a press conference this week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow made few promises (More).
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VN lures $1.9 billion in FDI in January Vietnam News, January 29, 2019 Foreign direct investment (FDI) pledged in Việt Nam witnessed a significant yearly increase of 52 per cent to US$1.9 billion in the first month of this year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment…Meanwhile, the capital pledged for stake acquisitions reached $761.8 million, up 114 per cent compared to the same month last year, the data noted…Their overseas investments targeted wholesale and retail and science, technology and communication sectors in Singapore, Finland, Japan and the US (More).
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Malaysia elects new king after unprecedented abdication BBC News, January 24, 2019 Malaysia has elected Sultan Abdullah of Pahang as its new kig after the shock abdication of the previous monarch. Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan abdicated in January after just two years on the throne, a first in Malaysian history. Malaysia has an unusual constitutional monarchy, where the top job rotates between nine hereditary state rulers every five years. The king, known as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, is largely ceremonial and does not participate in daily governance. The Sultan of Pahang – a large state in Peninsular Malaysia – is expected to be sworn into his new role on 31 January (More).
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Attacks in Thailand’s deep south: Who, why and what’s next? Caleb Quinley In the latest of a series of fatal attacks in Thailand’s southernmost provinces, a group of assault rifle-wielding attackers on Friday stormed a Buddhist temple, killing two monks and wounding two others…According to local reports, the attacker rolled up on motorcycles spraying the entrance to the temple before sprinting inside to target the Buddhist monks up close. Among those killed was the temple’s abbot, Sawang Vethmaha, also known as Phra Khru Prachote…The military has developed tactics that some are criticising as excessively punitive. Over the years, rights groups such as HRW have called against extrajudicial killings of suspected fighters and encouraged security responses that would reduce collateral damage (More).
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Can Cambodian foreign policy find its feet? Chheang Vannarith Amid shifting global power dynamics and intense pressure from the West, Cambodia’s foreign policy strategy in the coming years will aim to diversify its external relations, with a focus on South and East Asian countries. But in practice Cambodia still struggles to implement an effective foreign policy, stymied by institutional weaknesses. Without much-needed reform, Cambodia’s weak international presence may persist…Phnom Penh has signed only two strategic partnerships so far: one with China in 2010 and another with Japan in 2013. Cambodia views China and Japan as among its most important strategic partners, and ones that can be relied on to help Cambodia realise its vision of becoming a higher middle-income country by 2030 and high-income country by 2050 (More).
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Trump’s Transactional Worldview Is Imperiling the U.S.-South Korea Alliance Elliot Waldman Amid the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, soon to be the longest in American history, another recent lapse in funding has received far less attention but could be just as consequential. On Jan. 1, an important cost-sharing defense agreement, dictating how much money the South Korean government pays to support the U.S. military presence in the country, expired. No replacement text has been agreed to and negotiations are reportedly deadlocked due to President Donald Trump’s demands that Seoul shoulder a much larger portion of the stationing costs (More).
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A reformed China is a stronger China, and such is the US dilemma Joshua P Meltzer The United States ratcheted up economic pressure on China throughout 2018, raising tariffs on Chinese imports — US$250 billion so far — to which China retaliated by raising tariffs on US imports. Following the Trump–Xi meeting at the G20 in November, the United States agreed to a 90-day pause on further tariff increases. Both sides will use the time to address US concerns over Chinese trade practices, including those regarding intellectual property theft and market access…While access to the Chinese market remains commercially important, closer trade and investment increases US vulnerability by giving China opportunities to exploit access to US technology and intellectual property (More).
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Southeast Asia has major doubts about US reliability in the region, but still wary of China: survey Charles McDermid A poll of more than 1,000 Southeast Asian experts, analysts and business leaders has laid bare the concerns of a region trying to find its way amid the rise of China and the decline of the United States’ influence. The State of Southeast Asia: 2019 Report portrays an array of thought leaders who are losing faith in Washington, but still harbour deep concerns about Beijing…“China is a rising power, and as the neighbouring region, ASEAN has started to feel its influence,” Wang told the Post. “Different from the US, Japan and the European Union, China is geographically close to Southeast Asia, so it is a natural thing that the region doesn’t put confidence on China. (More).
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The Future of Democracy in South Asia Paul Staniland Until recently, Sri Lanka, one of Asia’s oldest democracies, seemed safe from this kind of instability. The country’s bloody civil war ended in 2009, and its 2015 election seemed to signal a new phase of liberalization. But democracy’s gains were less secure than they appeared…By some measures, the region is more stable and democratic than it has been in decades. Violence and unrest have subsided. Militaries have left the streets and returned to their barracks. Major insurgencies have been contained. As a region, South Asia is experiencing economic growth at an average rate of nearly seven percent each year. Today Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Pakistan — countries governed by hard-line military dictatorships in the recent past — are all, at least formally, democracies (More).
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2018 – a landmark year for India-US strategic relationship The Economic Times, December 31, 2018 Notwithstanding irritants on trade issues, India and the US made “landmark” progress in 2018 to bolster their strategic and defence ties – from holding the maiden trilateral meeting with Japan to the first-ever 2+2 dialogue during which they signed the long-pending COMCASA agreement that would open the way for sales of more sensitive US military equipment to India…India was among the few countries, which received a waiver on Iran sanctions from the Trump administration, which also pressed Pakistan to bring to justice the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attack and announced a reward of USD 5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual who committed, conspired to commit, or aided the 26/11 attack(More).
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The resurgence of strategic economic policymaking East Asia Forum, December 24, 2018 Accusations of technology and intellectual property theft, cyber attacks and unfair trade practices all add up to an excuse for decoupling the two economies and engaging in a new Cold War. The trade war is the opening salvo in what looks to be zero-sum strategic competition across all dimensions of the US–China relationship instead of mixed interest engagement. US allies and partners are none too subtly being called on to pick sides…The best protection against policy shifts in Beijing is not to reduce exposure but to lock in more interests and rules around the development of the relationship with China through the WTO and other global institutions. China signed up to the WTO rules and has had a better track record than the United States or the European Union of following the rules and accepting rulings against it. That the current rules do not cover all of commerce in the 21st century is not a case for tearing them down but a case for countries working with China to expand and to improve the rules (More).
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Won’t let US see missile at heart of nuclear dispute, says Russia The Asian Age, December 20, 2018 Russia said on Wednesday it would not let the United States inspect a new nuclear-capable cruise missile at the heart of a dispute between Washington and Moscow that risks unravelling a landmark arms control treaty…“We don’t feel right now that such a step would be justified from either a political or a technical point of view,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview with the Kommersant daily newspaper published on Wednesday…Russian military experts asked their US counterparts several days ago to hold consultations on the missile dispute, but had not yet received any response, Ryabkov said (More).
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Can the U.S. and South Korea stay aligned on North Korea Issues? Balbina Y. Hwang As 2018 draws to a close, U.S. President Donald Trump and his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae-in, are sounding remarkably optimistic about the future of the Korean Peninsula, a marked contrast to the hostile rhetoric of potential “fire and fury” that reflected heightened tensions following a series of nuclear and missile tests by North Korea just one year ago…Just last week, returning from Argentina where he met Trump on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit, Moon stated that Trump had a “very friendly view” of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He added that the U.S. would grant Kim’s wishes of security guarantees and relief from international sanctions, as agreed to during their summit in Singapore in June earlier this year (More).
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If Brunei Takes China’s Energy Deal, Neighbours May Follow Ralph Jennings Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to support joint exploration with Brunei for oil and gas, likely in a rectangular block of the South China Sea extending from the Bruneian coastline on the island of Borneo. That’s Brunei’s exclusive economic zone, but China says some of it falls under its flag….Without a better name around Southeast Asia, China risks more pressure from an alliance including Australia, India, Japan and the United States. Those countries, more militarily powerful as a unit than China, want Beijing to quit expanding control in the disputed sea over objections from smaller Asian governments whose economic zones overlap Chinese claims (More).
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ASEAN, Switzerland reaffirm commitment to strengthen partnership ASEAN Secretariat News, December 5, 2018 At the 3rd Meeting of the ASEAN-Switzerland Joint Sectoral Cooperation Committee (AS-JSCC) held at the ASEAN Secretariat yesterday, both sides expressed satisfaction on the concrete progress that had been made since the conferment of the status of Sectoral Dialogue Partner of ASEAN on Switzerland in July 2016. The meeting discussed extensively the completed, ongoing, and planned projects in implementing the List of Priorities for Cooperation under the ASEAN-Switzerland Sectoral Dialogue Relations for 2017-2018 and the Practical Cooperation Areas 2017-2021. The projects are in the area of, among others, peace and reconciliation, environment, technical and vocational education and training, disaster management, migration and skills development, support capacity building in regional integration, entrepreneurial skills and MSMEs development (More).
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ASEAN intensifies campaign to eliminate violence against women, combat trafficking-in-persons ASEAN Secretariat News, December 1, 2018 ASEAN pushed on a campaign to raise awareness and intensify action addressing violence and abuses against women in the context of trafficking-in-persons through a workshop from 29 November to 1 December in Bangkok. The ASEAN Regional Strategic Planning Workshop: Development of ASEAN Campaign in support of the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the Bohol Trafficking-in-Persons Work Plan was held building on ASEAN’s commitment to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls and to combat trafficking-in-persons (More).
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India and China to intensify efforts to fix border issue The Asian Age, November 25, 2018 India and China on Saturday resolved to “intensify” their efforts to achieve a “fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable” solution to the vexed boundary question at an early date as the special representatives of the two countries held “constructive and forward-looking” talks over the issue…“Recalling the strategic guidance and support to their work provided by the leaders at the Wuhan Summit, the Special Representatives resolved to intensify their efforts to achieve a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the India-China boundary question at an early date,” according to a statement issued by the Indian embassy in Beijing after the border talks said (More).
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East Asia Forum, November 19, 2018 Maybe US Vice President Mike Pence didn’t mean to fire the opening shots in a new Cold War with China in his 4 October speech at the Hudson Institute, but the global policy community can be forgiven now for taking the proposition seriously…The new Cold War narrative gained traction as President Xi Jinping consolidated his power and began to assert the discipline of the Chinese Communist Party across the government and society in China. It has been accompanied by a discernible shift right across the political spectrum in the United States towards a hard line posture on China (More).
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Abe Has Become the Pitchman for Maintaining Multilateralism in Asia J. Berkshire MillerWorld Politics Review, November 16, 2018 World leaders gathered in Singapore this week for the 13th annual East Asia Summit, the premier meeting for regional heads of state to discuss political and security issues. It comes amid rising tensions between Asia’s two largest powerbrokers, the United States and China…In a policy speech unprecedented for its confrontational public tone last month, Pence outlined a laundry list of American concerns about China, from its unfair trade practices and foreign interference to its regional aggressiveness in the East and South China Seas. “When it comes to Beijing’s malign influence and interference in American politics and policy,” Pence insisted, “we will continue to expose it, no matter the form it takes.” Many observers reacted with talk of a new Cold War (More).
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Top Indian, Chinese officials hold defence, security dialogue The Hindu, November 15, 2018 Top officials of India and China held the ninth Annual Defence and Security Dialogue in Beijing after a one-year gap due to the Doklam standoff, as both countries agreed to enhance military exchanges and interactions. The dialogue on November 13 was held between the two defence delegations headed by Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra and China’s Deputy Chief of Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission. At the talks both sides agreed on enhancing defence exchanges and interactions at different levels between the two militaries, a press release by the Indian Embassy in Beijing said on Thursday (More).
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ASEAN Leaders convene in Singapore for Summit ASEAN Secretariat News, November 13, 2018 The 33rd ASEAN Summit has officially started today in Singapore. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore presided over the opening ceremony of the Summit, marking the final milestone of Singapore’s Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2018. He was joined by the Heads of States/Governments of the other ASEAN Member States…One of the highlights of this year’s Summit was the awarding ceremony of the inaugural ASEAN Prize…The recipient will be announced during the opening ceremony and will be presented with the ASEAN Prize Trophy as well as prize money of USD20,000 (More).
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Visit of Prime Minister to Singapore (November 14-15, 2018) Ministry of External Affairs, November 12, 2018 Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will travel to Singapore on 14-15 November 2018 at the invitation of Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, Mr Lee Hsein Loong, to attend the ASEAN-India Breakfast Summit, 13th East Asia Summit (EAS) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit. Singapore as the current Chair of ASEAN is hosting these Summits…During the visit, Prime Minister will have a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Lee of Singapore. On the margins of these Summits, Prime Minister will hold bilateral meetings with other leaders (More).
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Asia–Africa Growth Corridor at the crossroads of business and geopolitics Céline Pajon and Isabelle Saint-Mézard East Asia Forum, November 9, 2018 The Asia–Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC) — a Japan–India initiative to promote connectivity between Asia and East Africa and encourage joint projects in Africa — is often misrepresented. All too often, the AAGC is depicted as a political move aimed exclusively at countering China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)… The AAGC provides substance to the India–Japan strategic partnership and a potential counterbalance to China’s BRI by improving interconnectivity between Asia and Africa. In other words, Tokyo and New Delhi can pursue their geopolitical vision by increasing their support to Japanese and Indian firms that wish to jointly invest in Africa (More).
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ASEAN pushes forward on marine litter prevention ASEAN Secretariat News, November 6, 2018 Representatives from ASEAN Member States, Europe, and other international partners to exchange experiences on the management of plastic and packaging waste in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia on 31 October – 1 November. The participants exchanged information and views on the current state of packaging value chains and packaging waste management in Southeast Asia, including its contribution to marine pollution in the region… the integration of the informal economy as well as source-to-sea management for preventing marine pollution (More).
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Foreign Affairs, October 22, 2018 This November, we will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of what was called “the war to end all wars” between the great powers of the early twentieth century. Of course, the war to end all wars turned out to be anything but. Because of a catastrophic series of unintended consequences, more wars followed in its wake, and the geopolitical map of the world has been redrawn three times since then…This series of doctrinal statements by the United States has formally declared an end to a 40-year period of U.S. strategic engagement with China, and its replacement with a new period of strategic competition (More).
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US-China tensions soar as ‘new cold war’ heats up The Guardian, October 16, 2018 The US and China have shrugged off rules and constraints that have kept their 21st-century global rivalry in check, opening the way for an escalating conflict on many fronts that neither side appears willing or able to stop. Chinese officials have accused Washington of starting a new cold war, but the jostling between the two powers has already shown its potential to turn hot through accident or miscalculation if action is not taken to defuse tensions…..Most experts said that China – though a leader in economic espionage that has sought to lobby against Trump’s tariff policies – was not trying to hack the US elections in the way Russia had meddled in the 2016 vote that brought Trump to Oval Office(More).
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Japan’s high stakes diplomacy with the US and China Shiro Armstrong Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Chinese President Xi Jinping on a state visit next week, less than a month after meeting US President Donald Trump in New York. After stalling for over 18 months since Mr Trump came to office, Tokyo acquiesced to US demands for bilateral trade negotiations late last month. It’s a defensive move aimed to stave off US Section 232 tariffs on Japanese automobiles — under the guise of US national security concerns — that would hit Japan’s most important and internationally competitive industry hard. Abe appears to have secured a stay on those tariffs in his recent meeting with Trump (More).
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Why South Korea’s Liberal Government Isn’t Taking In Asylum-Seekers World Politics Review, October 10, 2018 Hundreds of Yemeni asylum-seekers found their way to the South Korean resort island of Jeju this summer, sparking protests in a country that does not have a long history of dealing with foreigners of different ethnicities. Over 700,000 South Koreans have since signed a petition calling on the government to limit the entry of asylum-seekers, forcing President Moon Jae-in’s administration to scramble in response to the backlash. In an interview with WPR, Darcie Draudt, a doctoral candidate in political science at Johns Hopkins University who specializes in Korean affairs, discusses the history of refugees and asylum-seekers in South Korea and explains why even a liberal government there has difficulty opening its doors to those in need (More).
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Trumping financial risks in Asia Andrew Sheng In July 2018, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) asked whether the world was heading towards a perfect financial storm, with the US stock market heading for record highs even as emerging markets like Argentina and Turkey were running into foreign exchange problems. Twenty years after the Asian financial crisis of 1997–98 and the global financial crisis of 2007–08, storm clouds are gathering once again…Emerging markets have no alternative but either to allow exchange rate depreciation or defend themselves with higher interest rates that depress their own growth potential. Recently both Indonesia and Hong Kong had to defend their exchange rates through higher interest rates and intervention, respectively…But since Trump does not care much about professional advice, Asian markets worry less about measurable financial volatility than unmeasurable personality risks (More).
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India under fire as it deports Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar BBC News, October 4, 2018 India has deported seven Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar, despite last-minute appeals that doing so put them at risk. The men had been detained since 2012 for immigration violations. Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court refused to step in to stop their deportation. At least 700,000 Rohingya have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh to escape violence in Myanmar in the past year. UN officials have accused Myanmar’s military of ethnic cleansing. The army says it has been tackling insurgents. The Rohingya are one of many ethnic minorities in Myanmar, where the government sees them as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh and denies them citizenship (More).
India wants to start trade talks with U.S. ‘immediately’: Donald Trump The Hindu, October 1, 2018 President Donald Trump on Monday said India wants to start trade talks with the United States “immediately” as he held a news conference on the trade deal struck between the United States, Mexico and Canada. Describing the south Asian country as the “tariff king,” the President told reporters at the White House that India “called us and they say, ‘We want to start negotiations immediately.’” Known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the deal agreed ahead of a midnight deadline on Sunday will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which Mr. Trump had called a “disaster”(More).
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Xi Jinping reaches out to new Maldives leadership Atul Aneja President Xi spotlighted that “China and the Maldives share a longstanding friendship and China is committed to developing relations with the Maldives on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence” — a reference to Beijing’s stated intent to build ties based on “equality” and “mutual benefit”…Mr. Xi’s offer of continuity in ties with Male comes at a time when it is widely perceived that unlike its predecessor, the Solih administration is more favourably inclined towards India. Some Chinese academics say the situation in the Maldives will test the robustness of the “Wuhan spirit”…“After the Wuhan summit, mutual confidence between China and India was promoted. Maybe China and India can cooperate under two-plus-one formula not only in the Maldives but also in Afghanistan and Nepal” (More).
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Why Russia and China Are Strengthening Security Ties Alexander Gabuev Early last week, Russia concluded Vostok-2018, its largest military exercise since the fall of the Soviet Union. It wasn’t just their size, however, that made the recent war games so groundbreaking. For the first time in history, 3,200 Chinese troops trained alongside some 300,000 Russians in eastern Siberia…At present, both countries see their major security challenges elsewhere, and their shared desire to avoid creating yet another adverse relationship has been a stabilizing factor for relations. The Kremlin has its hands full with the wars in Syria and Ukraine, the impact of a growing NATO presence along its western border, and the ongoing U.S. defense buildup (More).
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ASEAN needs to unify its counter-terrorism strategy Mathew Bukit The threats posed to ASEAN by the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) and by a significant upturn in global terrorist attacks since 2004 have led to increased attention towards ASEAN’s counter-terrorism policy. As many as 1000 ASEAN nationals are already among IS combatants, so efforts to stem future recruitment of fighters from ASEAN are already an important part of the bloc’s counter-terrorism strategy. But as IS continues to lose territory in Iraq and Syria, ASEAN also needs to address the significant security risks posed by returning combatants…Counter-terrorism against ‘Bengali terrorists’ is grounded in identity rather than Rohingya socioeconomic disenfranchisement or the militants’ objective to overcome this disenfranchisement — a misalignment with ASEAN’s counter-terrorism strategy and academic research (More).
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Trump hits China with $200bn of new tariffs as trade war escalates The Guardian, September 18, 2018 Donald Trump has intensified his trade war with China by imposing new tariffs of $200bn on Chinese goods arriving in the US from next week. The US president announced the tariffs in a statement, saying: “If China takes retaliatory action against our farmers or other industries, we will immediately pursue phase three, which is tariffs on approximately $267bn of additional imports.”…Asian shares fell and copper prices eased after Trump’s announcement. US stock futures also took a knock, with E-Minis for S&P 500 and the Dow Minis both down 0.2%. However, analysts said the blow to the market was not as acute as it could have been, as investors had been expecting the move…The South China Morning Post had reported China would probably not send a trade delegation to Washington for fresh talks, citing an unidentified government source in Beijing (More).
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South and North Korean leaders meet amid denuclearization doubts Taiwan News, September 18, 2018 South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived in Pyongyang for his third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday, with denuclearization and ending the Korean War high on the docket. The two leaders exchanged smiles and a warm embrace at the start of the summit, in the first visit by a South Korean leader to Pyongyang in 11 years. Moon is also traveling with a contingent of South Korean business executives, including Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, as part of an effort to boost cross-border business projects. Those projects are currently on hold due to US sanctions….US President Donald Trump’s administration has said it wants Pyongyang to take concrete steps towards denuclearization before they will agree to declaring an end to the 1950-1953 Korean War — one of Kim’s key goals. Denuclearization talks have stalled since Trump and Kim met in Singapore in June. During their summit, the two generally agreed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, but did not set out a concrete plan (More).
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Cambodia: Free All Political Prisoners Human Rights Watch, September 12, 2018 The Cambodian government should immediately and unconditionally release all those detained for peacefully exercising their fundamental rights, Human Rights Watch said today in launching a new webpage. Political Prisoners Cambodia profiles 30 current and recent political prisoners in Cambodia. Twenty-one were released as Prime Minister Hun Sen attempts to regain international legitimacy after sham elections in July…Political prisoners and pre-trial detainees include members and supporters of the dissolved main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP); activists; human rights defenders; and journalists reporting for independent media outlets. Each has been detained or convicted and imprisoned for criticizing or otherwise running afoul of Hun Sen or the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). Most recently, on August 31, 2018, Australian filmmaker James Ricketson, 69, was convicted of espionage and sentenced to six years in prison apparently for making disparaging remarks about Hun Sen and the CPP (More).
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Australia’s revolving-door politics is a serious drag on its Asia strategy James Curran Looked at from overseas, the past decade of Australian political history might appear almost recklessly self-indulgent. How could a country boasting 27 years of uninterrupted economic growth also witness no fewer than six changes of prime minister since 2007? This toxic cocktail of ego, impatience and poisonous ideological rivalry has consumed both sides of politics and swung its own wrecking ball through a swathe of much-needed domestic reforms. Its impact on Australia’s place in the world has been much less discussed. In a period of relative American decline, the new Morrison government should give top priority to articulating a clearer narrative on the imperative for greater engagement between Australia and the major Asian powers, conscious of the tricky terrain between economic interdependence and strategic rivalry (More).
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ASEAN steps up efforts to effectively implement the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 ASEAN Secretariat News, September 6, 2018 More than 160 participants, including senior officials from ASEAN countries, members of the ASEAN Connectivity Coordinating Committee (ACCC), representatives from Dialogue Partners, and other stakeholders involved in the ASEAN Connectivity agenda, attended the 9th ASEAN Connectivity Symposium held today in Singapore. The Symposium continued to serve as an important platform to conduct a two-way conversation between ASEAN and the key stakeholders, including the private sector and multilateral development institutions (More).
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Malaysia’s new government is pushing back against China Richard Javad Heydarian The electoral tsunami that ended the 60-year reign of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition in Malaysia earlier this year is still sending shockwaves across the world.Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad‘s stunning return to power, at the age of 93, has not only shaken up the country’s domestic institutions, but is also upending the country’s strategic alignments abroad…In a major break from his traditionally constructive comments on China, Mahathir described the current leadership in Beijing as being “inclined towards totalitarianism” and not afraid to “flex [its] muscles” in order to “increase [its] influence over many countries in Southeast Asia” (More).
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New report says Southeast Asia makes headway in SME development ASEAN Secretariat News, September 1, 2018 The newly launched ASEAN Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Policy Index 2018 shows that Southeast Asia has been making considerable progress in advancing policy frameworks for SME development. Released today by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), and the ASEAN Secretariat, the report maps and benchmarks SME development policies across ASEAN Member States (AMS)…The ASEAN SME Policy Index 2018’s assessment cuts across eight different policy areas related to SME development, namely: productivity, technology, and innovation; environmental policies and SMEs; access to finance; access to market and internationalisation; institutional framework; legislation, regulation, and tax; entrepreneurial education and skills; and social and inclusive entrepreneurship (More).
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Trump accuses China of stalling progress with North Korea BBC News, August 30, 2018 US President Donald Trump has lashed out at China for undermining its work with North Korea, as criticism over progress on denuclearisation mounts…Days ago his own defence secretary said military exercises might continue. China has accused Mr Trump of “shifting blame” in his comments on its relations with North Korea. Soon after Mr Trump announced there was “no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea”. But since then many observers say North Korea is not moving fast enough to dismantle its nuclear or rocket sites…Beijing is Pyongyang’s only significant ally and is thought to have significant influence over its decisions. Beijing is also Washington’s most powerful long-term strategic rival in the region. The US and China are locked in an increasingly tense trade battle and each side has imposed tariffs on one another’s goods (More).
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Russia war games: Biggest since Cold War ‘justified’ BBC News, August 28, 2018 Russia plans to hold massive war games involving 300,000 personnel next month – its biggest military manoeuvres since a Cold War drill in 1981.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Vostok-2018 drills were justified given “aggressive and unfriendly” attitudes towards his country. Units from China and Mongolia will also take part in the exercises at military ranges in central and eastern Russia. The manoeuvres come at a time of rising tension between Nato and Russia…The Chinese defence ministry put out a fairly dry statement talking of deepening military co-operation and “enhancing both sides’ capabilities to jointly respond to various security threats”. But it did say the exercises would “not target any third party”(More).
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Govt approves procurement of 111 helicopters for Navy worth Rs 21,000 crore The Times of India, August 25, 2018 In a major decision, the defence ministry on Saturday gave its nod to acquisition of 111 utility helicopters for the Navy at a cost of over Rs 21,000 crore besides approving separate procurement proposals worth nearly Rs 25,000 crore, according to officials. A meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the ministry’s highest decision-making body on procurement, cleared the proposals. The procurement of the naval utility helicopters will be the first project under the ambitious strategic partnership (SP) model which provides for roping in private firm to build select military platforms in India in partnership with foreign defence manufacturers (More).
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US sanctions against Russia ‘counterproductive, senseless’: Putin The Asian Age, August 23, 2018 Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called US sanctions against Moscow “counterproductive and senseless” after Washington warned that more “economic pain” was to come. “Sanctions are actions that are counterproductive and senseless, especially against a country like Russia,” Putin said during a press conference with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto…Putin’s remarks came after a senior US Treasury official, Sigal Mandelker, said Tuesday that the US can inflict “much more economic pain… and will not hesitate to do so” if Russia does not cease what she called “malign activity”. The US government has sanctioned Russian entities over the past several years for meddling in Ukraine, attempting to influence US elections, playing a role in a nerve agent attack in Britain and violating United Nations sanctions on North Korea (More).
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| Scott Morrison sworn in as Australia’s 30th prime minister – politics live
The Guardian, August 24, 2018 Can the new prime minister, Scott Morrison, bring the party together? He’s almost sure to suffer in the polls. This week has been abysmal in the eyes of voters. They will punish the Coalition, have no doubt. So there’ll be a period of turbulence in that respect. At the same time, Morrison is not liked by elements of the right in the Liberal party. Peter Dutton has promised to back him and bury the hatchet. But how long will that last? What will happen in Wentworth? We know Malcolm Turnbull is planning to leave parliament “soon”. That suggests a byelection. The government has a one-seat majority. Wentworth is relatively safe for the Liberals. One of the candidates mooted for the seat is Christine Forster, Tony Abbott’s sister. It will be a curious space to watch (More).
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Myanmar: Aung San Suu Kyi defends policies towards Rohingya Al Jazeera, August 22, 2018 Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has defended her government’s actions in Rakhine state which have forced more than 700,000 Muslim-majority Rohingya to flee their homes and seek refuge in neighbouring Bangladesh…The UN has described the Myanmar military’s campaign in Rakhine as “textbook ethnic cleansing“, and journalists and human rights groups who have reported from the region have documented widespread rape, killing, and destruction of homes by government troops…The UN, which hasn’t been granted access to Rakhine since August 2017, fears the returning refugees won’t be given freedom of movement if they return (More).
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Short-term comfort for Abe in Trump’s Russia stance James DJ Brown Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has actively pursued closer relations with Russia since his return to office in December 2012. This has included the announcement of a ‘new approach’ to bilateral relations that features high-level political engagement, an eight-point economic cooperation plan and enhanced security dialogue…Japan’s sanctions against Russia introduced after the latter’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 are also notably weaker than those of other G7 members, and Tokyo has happily played host to several Russian officials whom the West has sanctioned….While Trump may have offered validation to Abe’s Russia policy in the short term, in the longer term there remain significant risks (More).
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Australia’s arms exports are unlikely to explode Greg Raymond Earlier in 2018, the Australian government took a large gamble. Faced with the unenviable choice of allowing Australian naval shipbuilding to slowly perish or preserving it at considerable cost to the Australian taxpayer, it chose the latter…A domestic defence industry has been a longstanding tenet of Australian defence policy, going back as far as the 1987 Defence White Paper, which claimed that for self-reliance reasons Australia must be able to repair and maintain its own major weapons systems. But there are at least three additional reasons for which the Australian government has committed to indigenous continuous-build programs for Australia’s submarines and offshore patrol vessels (More).
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ASEAN-China-UNDP Symposium to push for localisation of sustainable development goals ASEAN Secretariat News, August 13,2018 ASEAN, in cooperation with China and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), will hold a symposium in Siem Reap, Cambodia on August 20-21 to push for local implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in the region. Dubbed as the “Symposium on Localising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Realising Poverty Eradication,” it will elaborate ways to mainstream the SDGs at regional and sub-national levels in the context of complementarities between the ASEAN Vision 2025 and the SDGs…On the agenda of the symposium are group discussions called “Under the Sun, Under the Tree” where local communities will interact directly with symposium participants to present their voices to the policy makers. The discussions will also provide participants with information on mainstreaming the SDGs at community level (More).
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How South Koreans Are Reckoning With a Changing American Military Presence E. Tammy Kim In late June, Gen. Vincent Brooks, commander of United States Forces Korea, addressed a large uniformed crowd at an outdoor ceremony 40 miles south of Seoul. He christened a glittering new headquarters at United States Army Garrison Humphreys, usually referred to as Camp Humphreys, an American military base in the city of Pyeongtaek. Just two weeks earlier, President Donald Trump suggested in Singapore that American troops should be drawn down…Since the end of the Korean War in 1953, the United States has operated upward of 175 military installations in South Korea, a country the size of Kentucky. Today, that number is closer to 90, due to a massive consolidation (More).
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ASEAN, Pacific Alliance to explore further cooperation ASEAN Secretariat News, August 7, 2018 ASEAN and the Pacific Alliance reaffirmed their commitment to further explore cooperation in a number of areas of mutual interests at the Fourth Meeting between the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN and the Group of External Relations of the Pacific Alliance held at the ASEAN Secretariat today. ASEAN and the Pacific Alliance agreed to explore cooperation in the areas of trade; e-commerce; Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises; gender and culture; disaster relief; green growth; and people-to-people exchange such as through education and tourism. Towards this end, they agreed to extend the implementation period of the Work Plan until December 2019. The meeting also agreed to exchange information on major initiatives in each other’s organisation with a view to exploring areas of potential collaboration (More).
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The Security Risks of a Trade War With China Foreign Affairs, August 6, 2018 Trade tensions between the United States and China continue to rise. In June, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration announced that it would impose tariffs of 25 percent on $50 billion worth of Chinese exports, with the first wave targeting some 800 goods worth $34 billion. China pushed back with its own set of tariffs targeting the U.S. agricultural sector and industrial heartland…Trump often expresses irritation over the size of the U.S. trade deficit with China, but trade tensions between the two countries are rooted less in deficit figures than in high-tech competition (More).
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Vietnam’s response to China’s militarised fishing fleet Nguyen Khac Giang China has long been infamous for incorporating maritime militias into its fishing industry to assert its sovereignty claims. With the world’s largest fishing fleet, comprising 370,000 non-powered and 762,000 motor-powered vessels, China has the capacity and resources to push more of its fishermen to the front line of maritime disputes…In recent years, the VCG has also received technical and equipment assistance from China’s competitors, particularly the United States, Japan and India. Along with the VCG, the Vietnam Fisheries Resources Surveillance (VFRS) was established in 2013. The VFRS is armed and allowed to use force if necessary. Those two units, under the cover of civilian law enforcement, will reinforce Vietnam’s position in the South China Sea (More).
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Does Australia need a lesson in Indian economic strategy? Amitendu Palit The recently released Indian Economic Strategy to 2035 report outlines three core objectives for improving the Australia–India economic relationship. These include making India one of Australia’s top three export markets by 2035, making India the third-largest Asian recipient of Australian foreign direct investment by the same year and bringing India ‘into the inner circle of Australia’s strategic partnerships and with people-to-people ties as close as any in Asia’…Domestically, India continues to place faith in a strategy that would enable it to grow into a manufacturing powerhouse. It is rare to come across views from India that argue against India’s efforts to become a hub of labour-intensive manufacturing. The appeal of the view is comprehensive in India…‘Make in India’ remains a signature campaign and policy initiative in this respect (More).
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Washington and Tokyo to discuss trade in August, U.S. trade representative says The Japan Times, July 27, 2018 U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer suggested Thursday that the first meeting of a new trade dialogue between he and economy minister Toshimitsu Motegi will take place in August…The United States’ trade deficit with Japan in 2017 stood at some $69 billion — behind only China and Mexico and accounting for nearly 10 percent of the country’s total trade deficit.…“You’re probably looking at having to have some conclusion during the course of August, and my sense is that that’s not an unreasonable time frame if everybody wants to get it done,” Lighthizer said (More).
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Govt denies reports of renewed Chinese activities in Doklam The Times of India, July 26, 2018 The government on Thursday strongly denied media reports quoting a top US official as saying that China has resumed activities in Doklam region and dismissed the news as incorrect….Minister of State of External Affairs VK Singh had also informed the Rajya Sabha today that there have been no new developments at the site of the faceoff with China in Doklam and its vicinity, and status quo prevails in the area (More).
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Cambodia: July 29 Elections Not Genuine Samrang Pring Cambodia’s fundamentally flawed national elections on July 29, 2018, deny the Cambodian people their internationally protected right to choose their government, Human Rights Watch said today. The European Union, United States, Japan, and others have determined that the electoral process is too problematic to send official election observers. Serious problems with the electoral process include: arbitrary dissolution of the main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), and surveillance, intimidation, detention, and politically motivated prosecution of key opposition members. Other major concerns include a crackdown on independent media, a lack of fair and equal access to the media, and repressive laws restricting speech, association, and assembly (More).
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India-US ‘2+2’ talks in Delhi on September 6 Financial Express, July 21, 2018 The first edition of the “2+2” India-US strategic dialogue on security and defence ties would be held in New Delhi on September 6, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday. MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, “Minister of external affairs Sushma Swaraj and raksha mantri (defence minister) Nirmala Sitharaman will host US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and US Secretary of Defence James Mattis in New Delhi on September 6, 2018, for the inaugural 2+2 dialogue.”…“…the major focus will be to seek finalisation of key defence agreements like the Communications, Compatibility, Security Agreement (COMCASA) – a defence foundational pact that will enable India to obtain critical, secure and encrypted defence technologies from other countries (More).
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Minister Abdul Mutalib, Minister for Communications of Brunei Darussalam, visits India High Commission of India,Brunei Darussalam, July 20, 2018 HE Dato Abdul Mutalib Yusof, Minister for Communications of the Government of Brunei Darussalam, is on visit in India to participate in the tenth edition of the Delhi Dialogue. While there, he met with HE Mrs. Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister of India, and discussed bilateral issues of interest on 19th July 2018. The two Ministers together signed the bilateral MoU on Cooperation in the Operation of Telemetry and Tracking Telecommand Station for Satellite and Launch Vehicles and for cooperation in the field of Space Research and Applications. Minister Mutalib is scheduled to visit Bengaluru over the next few days where he will visit some IT company campuses and institutions of scientific excellence to explore further avenues of cooperation between India and Brunei Darussalam in these significant sectors (More).
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S Paul Kapur
On 3 June 2018, India conducted the sixth test of its Agni V intermediate-range ballistic missile. The launch reportedly brought the weapon one test away from eligibility for induction into India’s Strategic Forces Command. With a range of 5000 kilometres, the nuclear-capable Agni V can strike targets across China — a point that Indian officials and analysts have publicly stressed…In contrast to China, Pakistan views India as its primary strategic competitor and designs its nuclear force structure in direct response to India’s military posture — even though significant elements of Indian forces like the Agni V are not Pakistan-centric. Pakistan is extremely sensitive to Indian capabilities and relies heavily on nuclear weapons to counter them (More).
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Why Japan–China relations are back on track Katsuji Nakazawa East Asia Forum, July 18, 2018 In early May 2018 during his first visit to Japan since being appointed in 2013, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang publicly remarked that Japan–China relations had returned to a path of normality. This ‘throw-away line’ revealed that China’s official perspective prior to then was that Japan–China relations had been off course and abnormal…The backdrop to the anti-Japan demonstrations in China was a domestic political struggle over the change of leadership as the Hu Jintao presidency drew to a close. That Premier Li was recently able to make an official visit to Japan demonstrates that the adverse impacts of this domestic political struggle on Japan–China relations have for the most part been erased (More).
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Secretary-General of ASEAN calls for global collaboration on climate change ASEAN Secretariat News, July 12, 2018 Secretary-General of ASEAN Dato Lim Jock Hoi addressed the Special ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Climate Action (SAMCA), which was initiated and hosted by the Government of Singapore on 10 July…In his remarks, Dato Lim Jock Hoi congratulated the Government of Singapore for inaugurating 2018 as the Year of Climate Action, which amplifies the theme of “Resilient and Innovative”, the focus of Singapore’s Chairmanship of ASEAN for this year. The Secretary-General highlighted, among others, the importance of collaborative partnership, the role of cities, and technology innovation, in ASEAN’s efforts in advancing climate action in the region (More).
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Does Climate Change Have Anything to Do With Floods in Thailand? Kendra Pierre-Louis After 12 members of a youth soccer team and their coach were trapped in the Tham Luang Cave in northern Thailand nearly three weeks ago, their plight, and then their rescue, captured the world’s attention…“It’s likely climate change, in the sense that there’s more moisture in the air,” Dr. Gordon said. Warmer air can hold more moisture, and “when the air has more moisture in it, you would get wetter wet bands and drier dry bands,” he said…“With any individual event, it’s hard to pinpoint the blame to climate change,” Dr. Tandon said. “But it’s certainly in keeping with the trends, in the sense of, ‘Do we see, statistically, more events like this?’ And the answer is, ‘Yes’” (More).
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How Facebook’s Rise Fueled Chaos and Confusion in Myanmar Timothy McLaughlin On the evening of July 2, 2014 a swelling mob of hundreds of angry residents gathered around the Sun Teashop filling the streets in the commercial hub of Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city. The teashop’s Muslim owner had been accused, falsely, of raping a female Buddhist employee. The accusations against him, originally reported on a blog, exploded when they made its way to Facebook—by then, synonymous with the internet in Myanmar…The unrest was the latest in a string of flare-ups, often violent, between minority Muslims and Buddhists in the majority-Buddhist country of around 51 million since restrictions on free speech and the internet were steadily loosened starting in 2010 (More).
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1MDB: Malaysia’s global corruption scandal The 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) fund was set up in 2009 to turn Kuala Lumpur into a financial hub and boost the economy through strategic investments. It started to attract negative attention in early 2015 after it missed payments due for some of the $11bn (£8.3bn) it owed to banks and bondholders. The fund was then accused of money laundering and channelling hundreds of millions of dollars into private pockets to acquire assets globally, including yachts, paintings, jewellery and real estate…The country’s former prime minister Najib Razak was accused of pocketing nearly $700m (£520m) from the fund, which he himself had set up. Mr Najib has always denied the allegations and was cleared of wrongdoing by Malaysian authorities when he was in power (More).
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ASEAN, New Zealand reaffirm commitment to deepen strategic partnership ASEAN and New Zealand reaffirmed their commitment to further expand and deepen cooperation as strategic partners at the 6th ASEAN-New Zealand Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) Meeting held at the ASEAN Secretariat on 2 July 2018. In the meeting, both sides reviewed the implementation of the Plan of Action to Implement the Joint Statement for ASEAN-New Zealand Strategic Partnership (2016-2020) and highlighted the progress made in its implementation across all three ASEAN Community pillars, as well as in the areas of connectivity and narrowing the development gap in ASEAN through the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (More).
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| US Treated “Very Poorly” By WTO, But We’re Not Pulling Out: Donald Trump
NDTV, June 30, 2018 President Donald Trump has denied that he is planning to withdraw US from the World Trade Organisation, but accused the global trade body of treating America “very badly”…”We’ve been treated very badly by the WTO…It’s a very, very unfair situation. When you look at the WTO, that’s where China emerged, when they joined the WTO,” Trump told reporters…Trump is a longtime critic of the WTO. He often complains that the world trade body is biased against US…The tariffs have also led to retaliation by US allies, including Canada and the European Union…”If you look at the European Union, it’s USD 150 billion deficit. If you look at China, it’s USD 375. If you take any country – look at Mexico, it’s USD 100 billion trade deficit…You look at Canada. Canada’s treated us poorly…but it’ll all work out,” he said (More). |
| The world is pushing back in the South China Sea
Tuan N Pham In recent weeks, there have been several commentaries reporting a temporary new norm in the South China Sea (SCS) — realpolitik’s triumph over moralpolitik and the rapid decline of regional US soft power. But current developments suggest otherwise. Years of ill-advised US acquiescence and accommodation (strategic patience and wishful thinking) in the SCS appear to be over for now…Many countries are now firmly pushing back against Chinese unilateral expansionism in the SCS…And at the 2018 Shangri-La Dialogue, the United States, India, Vietnam, France and the United Kingdom all spoke strongly against China’s assertive and destabilising actions in the SCS…The region and the world have come to the realisation that Beijing’s actions in the SCS are dangerously undermining the extant global order that China itself has benefited from (More). |
| US secretary of state Pompeo to visit North Korea next week
The Irish Times, June 28, 2018 US secretary of state Mike Pompeo plans to travel to North Korea next week to discuss the country’s denuclearization plans, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing four people familiar with his plans. US officials said Mr Pompeo had cancelled a meeting with his Indian counterpart in Washington on July 6th in order to fly to Pyongyang, the newspaper reported. His visit would mark the first to North Korea since US president Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held their June 12th summit in Singapore…On Wednesday, Mr Pompeo told lawmakers he was confident that North Korea understood the scope of the US desire for complete denuclearization as the two countries negotiate after the summit (More). |
| The Belt and Road Bubble Is Starting to Burst
David G. Landry In a sense, the Sicomines resources-for-infrastructure agreement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been just another underperforming deal in a country with no shortage of them. But it is also more than that — namely, a window into the flaws at the heart of Chinese international economic policy, which is already costing its economy dearly…At the turn of the century, the Chinese government started implementing its “Go Out” policy, which sought to incentivize domestic firms to look for business overseas…Through the Go Out policy and the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s firms have been economically and politically incentivized to invest in countries where they have little to no experience…Regardless of Chinese firms’ motives for undertaking such risky projects abroad, failed investments are now fixtures of China’s foreign investment portfolio (More). |
| US defence chief James Mattis visits China as tensions simmer
The Straits Times, June 26, 2018 US Defence Secretary James Mattis arrived in Beijing on his first ever visit to China on Tuesday, aiming to find room for military cooperation as security tensions between the two superpowers edge higher…The Pentagon chief, who will also visit South Korea and Japan on a four-day visit to the region, arrives as the trade threats between Washington and Beijing intensified, with tariffs looming next week…At a strategic forum in Singapore three weeks ago, Mattis said Beijing’s deployment of high end weapons systems in the South China Sea was for the purposes of “intimidation and coercion”. The Chinese retorted that Mattis’ comments were “irresponsible”(More). |
| Here Come the US-China Tariffs
Shannon Tiezzi It’s official: the U.S.-China trade war will kick off on July 6. That’s the date U.S. tariffs on a lengthy list of Chinese imports will take effect, with China’s retaliatory tariffs are expected to launch the same day…China’s response today also included a call for other countries to join together to oppose Trump’s trade moves. The idea of free-trade proponents joining together with China would have been unthinkable just a short while ago. Now, however, with Trump slapping tariffs on not only China but the European Union, Canada, and Japan, the idea doesn’t seem so far far-fetched….In other words, the United States and China are set to be locked into a vicious cycle of responding to each other’s moves to up the ante. Numerous rounds of negotiations – and one brief moment of “consensus” – have not been enough to forestall the trade war. Now it’s time to see who folds first (More). |
| The Trump Kim Summit: Reality TV Or a New Era?
Robin Wright Three days after angering his six closest Western allies, President Trump embraced Asia’s most notorious dictator at a steamy resort in Singapore and heralded a “very special bond” in new relations between the United States and North Korea…“As hyped as the meeting was, the result is underwhelming,” Wendy Sherman, who was a top negotiator with North Korea in the Clinton and Obama Administrations…Trump gave Kim a “major concession” without equivalent reciprocal steps, Sherman added, by cancelling joint exercises with South Korea. After the Singapore summit, the temperamental President seems to be on better terms with a North Korean despot than a Canadian democrat (More). |
| Vietnamese Protests an Opening for Chinese Territorial Interests
Richard C. Paddock Anti-China protests erupted throughout Vietnam and more than 100 people were arrested late Sunday after demonstrators stormed a provincial government building east of Ho Chi Minh City, the local news media reported…Many Vietnamese harbor resentment against China, Vietnam’s northern neighbor, and were said to be angry about a measure that would allow the leasing of land to foreigners for 99 years in three special economic zones…The worst rioting occurred at a steel factory being built in Ha Tinh Province by a subsidiary of Taiwan’s giant Formosa Plastics Group, where the company employed thousands of laborers from mainland China. Protesters stopped buses, pulled off Chinese passengers and beat them. Four people were killed (More). |
| Malaysia PM urges TPP ‘renegotiation’
The Jakarta Post, June 11, 2018 Malaysia’s newly-elected prime minister called Monday for the Trans-Pacific Partnership to be “renegotiated,” and urged protection for small countries in international trade. Malaysia, along with 10 other countries, pushed ahead with the TPP in March despite Donald Trump having yanked the United States out of the huge multilateral trade deal to pursue his “America First” agenda…The deal was pushed by former US president Barack Obama’s administration in part as a way to counter growing Chinese commercial power. It cuts tariffs and requires members to comply with a high level of regulatory standards in areas like labour law and environmental protection (More). |
| The G7 summit looked like it was going okay. Then Trump got mad on Twitter
Zeeshan Aleem During the summit, Trump’s meetings with leaders from the other G7 members — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom, plus the European Union (which is not technically part of the G7 but participates) — were reportedly pretty tense and confrontational…Just hours after leaving the G7 (Group of Seven) summit in Quebec on Saturday, President Donald Trump abruptly retracted US support for a joint statement signed by every nation in the group and blasted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “meek and mild.”… “We’re like the piggy bank that everybody’s robbing — and that ends,” said Trump…Trump was responding to a press conference during which Trudeau had promised to retaliate against Trump’s tariffs with tariffs of his own (More). |
| In Mahathir’s Malaysia, Japan is back amid doubts over Chinese funding
The Asahi Shimbun, June 10, 2018 Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is set to woo investors and offer business deals during a trip to Japan that starts on Sunday, as he looks to cover a gaping debt hole and shift the country away from dependence on Chinese investments. The visit marks his first foreign trip after returning to power in a shock election result last month, and indicates a shift back to the 92-year-old’s Look East policy to strengthen ties with east Asia, especially Japan…It is also seen as a sign of the Southeast Asian country’s move away from China, which contentiously pumped billions of dollars into the scandal-tainted previous Najib Razak administration…Japan is Malaysia’s largest foreign direct investment contributor at $13 billion last year (More). |
| Myanmar Military Targets Other Ethnic Groups After Driving Rohingya Out
Jon Emont and Myo Myo Just after the campaign against the Rohingya, Myanmar’s military newly targets the Kachin, a Christian minority group in Myanmar’s northern mountains. The Kachin are a member of the Northern Alliance, a coalition of ethnic minorities in northern Myanmar who vie for increased representation in, autonomy from, and even independence from the Burmese central government. Myanmar however seeks to proscribe insurgency and will show no humanitarian restraint to those who refuse the ceasefire. Nobel Prize winning State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi however cannot control the military- led by Commander in Chief Min Aung Hlaing- who are the perpetrators of this “cleansing” that they deem is in the best interest of Burmese unity (More). |
| China to Host Iran to Avoid Project Disruption Amid Nuclear Deal Doubt
Today, May 28, 2018 China will host Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in an effort to keep Iran in the 2015 nuclear deal. Becoming tenuous after Trump withdrew this month, Iran’s acquiescence to the global deal is the responsibility of other nations to maintain. Specifically, China and Russia will be co-hosting the summit as leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) security block, an establishment Iran is keen on joining. Because Western sanctions on Tehran have been lifted, Iran could also the SCO just as India and Pakistan did last year. Besides these five nations, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have also been invited to the summit scheduled sometime in June. Other discussion points will include counter-terrorism and drug smuggling (More). |
| China’s New Revolution: The Reign of Xi Jinping
Elizabeth C. Economy It was October 2017, and the Chinese leader was addressing the 19th Party Congress, the latest of the gatherings of Chinese Communist Party elites held every five years. In his three-and-a-half-hour speech, Xi, who was appointed the CCP’s general secretary in 2012, declared his first term a “truly remarkable five years in the course of the development of the party and the country,” a time in which China had “stood up, grown rich, and become strong.” He acknowledged that the party and the country still confronted challenges, such as official corruption, inequality in living standards, and what he called “erroneous viewpoints.” But overall, he insisted, China was headed in the right direction—so much so, in fact, that he recommended that other countries draw on “Chinese wisdom” and follow “a Chinese approach to solving the problems facing mankind” (More). |
| The US-China Trade War
Roncevert Ganan Almond When examining the state of U.S. President Donald Trump’s self-described “trade war” against China, one cannot help but wonder whether the White House has a coherent strategy or whether the plan has been to engage in battle in order to reach a policy. Given this confusion, it is perhaps both unsurprising and appropriate that the Trump administration has momentarily lost its taste for confrontation with China (More). |
| The Leaders of the Two Koreas Meet Again
The Economist, May 27, 2018 Following Trump’s withdrawal from the US-DPRK Singapore summit, Presidents Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong Un of South and North Korea respectively held an impromptu meeting, the second in the last decade between the two diametric countries. Kim called Moon after Trump’s cancellation suggesting his concern over American reliability but commitment to détente and peace-keeping. Particularly, Kim may have been spooked by American talk about the “Libyan model” of denuclearization which led to the brutal killing of Libya’s former dictator Muammar Qaddafi. Juxtaposing this fate with Kim’s belief that nuclear arms are the only means to his regime’s survival, it seems the Korean dictator is in a zugzwang. Moon remained open to Kim’s concerns while asserting that the USA and DPRK must build their own amity as he is with Kim (More). |
| Kim, Moon Discuss How to Revive Trump Summit in Surprise Meeting
Kanga Kong and Heesu Lee The leaders of North and South Korea met for two hours Saturday in a surprise meeting to discuss ways to salvage the canceled summit between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump, and the two countries plan additional talks this week…“They shared the opinion that they would meet frequently in the future to make dialogue brisk and pool wisdom and efforts,” KCNA said… They discussed the potential Trump-Kim summit and ways to implement a peace declaration they signed during their first meeting on April 27, according to the text from the president’s office. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted on Saturday to “Stay Focused. It’s about the outcome. It’s about keeping Americans and the world safe.”(More). |
| After Snubbing Taiwan, Burkina Faso Establishes Diplomatic Ties with China
The New York Times, May 26, 2018 Taiwan endures another loss in its geopolitical influence as Burkina Faso becomes the fourth nation under President Tsai Ing-wen’s tenure to sever ties in order to establish relations with China. Taiwan is now left with only 18 diplomatic allies- many of which are poor nations in Central America and the Pacific such as Belize and Nauru. Only Swaziland remains in Africa. Because China refuses to trade with nations who recognize Taiwan (contrary to their “One China” principle), most must choose China over Taiwan for their economic integrity. Though Mr. Wu, Taiwan’s foreign minister claims this loss will only bolster existing ties and although the US maintains friendly though unofficial relations, China seems to be succeeding in gradually rendering Taiwan irrelevant in the global scene (More). |
| Where Myanmar Went Wrong: From Democratic Awakening to Ethnic Cleansing
Zoltan Barany Late last year, when news broke that Myanmar’s military had been systematically killing members of the country’s Muslim Rohingya minority, much of the world was shocked. In recent years, Myanmar (also known as Burma) had been mostly a good news story. After decades of brutal dominance by the military, the country had seen the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy, score an all-too-rare democratic triumph, winning the 2015 national elections in a landslide. The NLD’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, an internationally celebrated dissident who had received the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to democratize Myanmar, became Myanmar’s de facto head of state (More). |
| ‘Poker Player’ Xi Jinping May Hold North Korea Trump Card
The Straits Times, May 25, 2018 The greatest beneficiary of the DPRK-US summit cancellation by President Trump may be Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The cancellation, more likely a postponement, would grant Xi enough time to ensure China’s interests are protected and to potentially hold more private meetings with the North Korean and/or American leaders before the summit actually transpires (if at all). Though a slight travesty to claim Xi premeditated the cancellation to buy time, the fact that it is still in his favor verifies Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang’s disavowal of any ulterior motives the Chinese may have in the geopolitical affair. After all, an ultimate consequence of cancellation is reconsideration by the US of military options against North Korea- something Xi does not want (More). |
| Why President Trump’s North Korea Summit Is Still Likely to Happen, According to a Top Expert Mahita Gajanan
Time, May 24, 2018 Trump’s cancellation of the summit with North Korean leader Kim should be construed as a maneuver of gamesmanship, signaling a postponement rather than a termination of the historic negation. Trump’s official media letter contained ambiguously positive phrases regarding North Korea such as “We had a wonderful dialogue.” Kim likewise exhibited promising sentiments towards the United States through the release of hostages and the (purported) cessation of nuclear arms testing. Because both the US and DPRK are displaying signs of cooperation and need a certain respite from precarious diplomatic tensions, the cancellation should be seen an opportunity for each leader to recoup behind public eye so they can capitalize on an opportunity that may not come again (More). |
| China and India: On the ‘Friend’ Side of ‘Frenemy’
Soyen Park Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping of India and China respectively settled into the “first informal summit” nations after years of growing tension (e.g. Doklam) and mutual distrust. Though nothing official came of the late-April Wuhan meeting, both leaders underscored their commitment to a future of bilateral cooperation in their discussion of contentious topics like trade deficits, terrorism, and the Belt and Road Initiative. Though both seemed to be on equal footing, Modi was the one who had much more to lose because he asked Xi to meet. To compensate for declining approval, the Indian leader must ensure border stability to China. For Xi, the meeting was a timely opportunity to boast China’s diplomatic geniality in light of increasing friction with the US (More). |
| New Zealand Deploys ‘Rugby Diplomacy’ Amid Scrum with China over Pacific Islands
Neil Connor New Zealand’s deployment of ‘rugby diplomacy’ is the country’s unique approach to parry growing Chinese influence in the southern Pacific. A joint team from Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga- dubbed the Pacific Force- is set to join the Super Rugby club competition contested normally 15 teams of the southern hemisphere as well as Japan. This endeavor was a rejoinder to China’s US$1.78 billion provision of aid to the Pacific nations between 2006 and 2016- a pretext to gain unshakeable foothold in the region. While China has even set up government buildings in East Timor and eyes a military base in Vanuatu, New Zealand vies to retain regional control and domestic value while incurring the various benefits and opportunities of sport (More). |
| After Fleeing Violence in Myanmar, Rohingya Refugees Struggle in India
Rina Chandran Absence of legislation regarding refugee rights in India has led to unfavorable differential treatment of Rohingya asylum seekers. Though India’s tradition of accepting refugees reaches dates decades back and includes Tibetans, Sri Lankan Tamils, Hindu refugees from Pakistan, and Bangladeshis, it is predominantly charity based, lacking an official legal framework. Legislative precarity permits an inequality in refugee treatment allowing, for example, Christians from Pakistan to become citizens but PM Narendra Modi to declare that Rohingyas must be deported because they pose a security threat. With almost half of India’s 38,000 refugees Rohingya and increasing identity mandates such as India’s Aadhaar, tension is breeding among the policy makers of refugee rights and already-struggling refugees themselves (More). |
| Thai-Cambodian Fugitive Deal Won’t Mend Relations
Nicole Jenne March’s meeting between Cambodia’s deputy prime minister Tea Banh and Thailand’s prime minister Prayuth Cha-o-cha garnered attention because it yielded a successful deal between the traditionally conflicting nations. The agreement- to exchange fugitives- though ostensibly a symptom of improving relations is more likely a façade for political machinations; both regimes have become increasingly oppressive and share the common interest of silencing political opposition. This “negative cooperation” will likely not accomplish much as the true roots of disagreement (e.g. border disputes, migration, and smuggling) remain unaddressed. (More). |
| Japan: From Gunboat Diplomacy to Coast Guard Diplomacy
Jay Tristan Tarriela On December 18, 2017, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called a Ministerial Council meeting to discuss his plans in strategically expanding efforts to strengthen the Japanese maritime security system. In particular, he stressed the need for the Japanese Coast Guard (JCG) to be further developed since it has significant roles in attaining his objectives and, most importantly, in promoting international cooperation by sharing Japanese values regarding a free and open maritime order based on the rule of law with relevant countries in order to realize the free and open Indo-Pacific Strategy (More). |
| Japan, China and South Korea Get Together
The Economist, May 10, 2018 Given the recent shift in the diplomatic status quo of North-East Asia, Japan is indignant for being overlooked. US President Trump’s acceptance to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un compelled Japanese PM Shinzo Abe to question the reliability of relations with the US. In response, Abe hosted a trilateral meeting on May 9 between himself and his two biggest neighbors- Chinese PM Li Keqiang and South Korean president Moon Jae-in- who could bring him back into the loop of the DPRK and US’s rapidly evolving relationship. His inquietude is justified because Trump could, for example, make a deal with Kim eliminating long range missiles while allowing the short-range ones that could still hit Japan. The summit brought closer all three nations, reducing their differences in light of the new neighboring dynamic (More). |
| Korean Leaders Pledge Peace
Walter Sim and Chang May Choon Kim Jong Un became the first North Korean leader to set foot in the south, greeting South Korean President Moon Jae In with a long handshake. The leaders promised to no more war and a new era of peace making it a watershed moment for reconciliation in the Korean peninsula. Other warming events include Moon stepping over the border to the North, both leaders planting a symbolic pine tree dating back to 1953, and both concluding their day with an affable embrace. Prospective developments include an official end to the Korean war since it ceased only with an armistice and some form of denuclearization (More). |
| Xi, Modi Push for Better Ties at Meeting
Goh Sui Noi Chinese President Xi Jinping yesterday told visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he hoped their meeting will start a new chapter in bilateral ties, at their first “unofficial” summit meant to reset fraught relations…Bilateral ties took a serious dip during a 74-day stand-off between the two countries’ militaries in an area high in the Himalayas – Doklam to India and Donglang to the Chinese – that is claimed by both Bhutan and China…Chinese analysts said the informality of the meeting between Mr Xi and Mr Modi allows for a freer and broader exchange and more meaningful consensus (More). |
| Myanmar’s Buddhist Factor
The Jakarta Post, April 27, 2018 The absence of Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi from this weekend’s 32nd ASEAN summit in Singapore is alarming because it signals that Myanmar may return to its previous isolationist policy…The well-orchestrated scenario by the military to ethnically cleanse Rakhine of the minority ethnic group has angered the world…ASEAN needs to consider more intensive participation by Buddhist-majority member states — Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia — in dealing with Myanmar, especially their Buddhist leaders….ASEAN is in the right position to coordinate these inter-country efforts (More). |
| China-US Trade War and Impact on ASEAN
Makmun Syadullah The facts show that external trade has been the largest contributor to China’s economic growth. Market-oriented economic reforms have brought about expansion in trade and changes to its commodity structure. Both exports and imports shifted from agriculture to industrial products having ramifications across the entire Southeast-Asian, geopolitical landscape (More). |
| The South China Sea and ASEAN’s 32nd Summit Meeting
Carl Thayer The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is set to convene its 32nd Summit in Singapore on April 28…draft copies of two important policy documents that are set to be released at the conclusion of the summit: the ASEAN Leaders’ Vision for A Resilient and Innovative ASEAN and the Zero Draft of the Chairman’s Statement of 32nd ASEAN Summit (More). |
| The China – India – Nepal Triangle
Kamal Dev Bhattarai While Nepal’s Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali was in China from April 16-21, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi asked India to be a part of new development projects in Nepal. “Whether it’s China or India, our two countries shall be happy to see Nepal’s new development after its political transition,” Wang said. China wants to invest in big connectivity projects in Nepal but prefers to bring its Asian competitor, India, on board. Some Nepali and Chinese scholars see this as an opportunity for trilateral cooperation between Nepal, India, and China, but Indian policymakers and academics have not shown much interest (More). |
| A New Cold War With Russia Forces Japan to Choose Sides
James D. J. Brown The Japanese government has been engaged in a delicate balancing act when it comes to Russia. Even as the crisis in East-West relations has intensified since 2014, Japan has strengthened political and economic ties with its northern neighbor. It has justified this policy as essential in order to secure a breakthrough in Japan’s longstanding territorial dispute over the Southern Kurils/Northern Territories. However, as geopolitical tensions reach Cold War levels, Japan is under increasing pressure to fall in line with its Western partners (More). |
| Trouble in Paradise: A Chinese Occupation in Tahiti
Anne-Marie Brady China’s strategic and military interests in the South Pacific are expanding rapidly. They build on longstanding links and fill the vacuum left by receding U.S. and French power projection in the region, as well as Australia and New Zealand’s longstanding neglect of key relationships. China is now acknowledged by many Pacific leaders as the dominant power in the region. While Pacific leaders will continue to work with traditional partners, they will not back down on their expanding relations with China. China has offered to them what the United States and its allies cannot, massive sums of money for development projects that promise jobs and economic independence (More). |
| CIA boss Mike Pompeo held secret meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un: US media
Deutsche Welle News, April 17, 2018 Secretary of state nominee and CIA chief Mike Pompeo is believed to have met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over Easter weekend to set up a meeting with US President Donald Trump, US media reported Tuesday. On Wednesday, Trump confirmed there was a meeting…Earlier, Trump said the US had held high-level talks with North Korea, confirming that officials have begun laying the groundwork for the anticipated meeting between the leaders sometime before the end of May (More). |
| Jokowi’s Indo-Pacific Vision
The Jakarta Post, April 13, 2018 The two-day Indonesia-Africa Forum (IAF) in Bali was meaningful in terms of business for the host country, because it resulted in trade deals totaling US$1.08 billion…Jokowi raised the concept of enhancing cooperation among littoral countries during the ASEAN-India summit in New Delhi last January. At various world forums, Jokowi unveiled his vision to grow Indonesia as a global maritime fulcrum and his speech in India was the culmination of his maritime power platform (More). |
| Ring Of Fire: Tremors and Eruptions in the US-China Trade War
Roncevert Ganan Almond …On April 5, 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump likewise erupted in fury, announcing a new salvo in the U.S.-China trade war that threatens to cast a choking cloud over the global economy. This round in the dispute between Washington and Beijing should be distinguished from and elevated above prior iterations, which include the solar panel-sorghum episode and the tit-for-tat tiff involving U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs and corresponding Chinese tariffs on $3 billion of U.S. exports like pork and fruit. Instead, this fight more clearly represents the essential struggle between the United States and China over strategic technological breakthroughs and competing stations within the global economy (More). |
| Does ASEAN Want the US Navy in the South China Sea?
Asia Times, April 3, 2018 …the current US administration has once again stepped up rhetoric and naval operations, sending a message to China: Your neighbors in the region are smaller than you, but they are not alone…But the question of whether member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) support US presence in the South China Sea may not have a black-and-white answer…In short, says maritime policy analyst Mark Valencia, “Southeast Asian support may be much shallower and more ephemeral than [the US] thinks.” (More). |
| Kim Jong Un’s China Visit May Be Start of His World Travels
VOA News, April 1, 2018 Kim Jong Un is visiting China to meet with President Xi Jinping marking the first time he has travelled outside of North Korea since assuming power in 2011. Subsequent scheduled conferences are with Presidents Moon (DPRK) and Trump (USA) and even Putin (RUS) and PM Abe (JPN) later on. This surprise trip to China is nevertheless a wise move for Kim as he will be better educated and less vulnerable when conversing with the other world leaders later on. At the same time, China as the first host benefits them tremendously because it will have established Xi’s influence on the Korean dictator and his invaluableness in leading the process of rapprochement between DPRK and the rest of the world (More). |
| After Kim-Xi Meeting, Abe Eager to Advance Japan’s Interests
Julian Ryall Japan’s PM Abe has quickly arranged a trip to Washington to “coordinate policy” with the US president…Abe is expected to urge the US president to include a human rights component to their talks, specifically a commitment from North Korea to return all Japanese nationals that have been abducted to train the regime’s secret agents…South Korea appears to have been convinced that the North is genuine in its desire to rebuild cross-border ties. Now China is on the receiving end of Pyongyang’s charm offensive. Tokyo senses that Washington might be willing to make friends with Kim’s regime, leaving Japan out in the cold (More). |
| The U.S. Wants Back in the TPP? Good Luck With That
Keith Johnson More than a year after withdrawing from a big Asia-Pacific trade pact, the Trump administration keeps talking about rejoining it on its own terms. But the Asia-Pacific countries that were eager a year ago to hold the door open for the United States are now busy building their own trading order — without Washington at all…Many of the member states shudder at the idea of re-opening contentious, yearslong negotiations just to try to coax the United States back into the club…Instead each country pursues its own diplomatic objectives perhaps better off without the US at all (More). |
| Australia’s anticlimactic ASEAN Summit
Nick Bisley The ASEAN–Australia special summit on 17–18 March 2018 concluded with the issuing of the grandly titled ‘Sydney Declaration’. The joint statement nods to many of the issues raised at the summit including security, trade, investment, rights and people-to-people links. Yet there was something anticlimactic both about the document and the summit as a whole…for the government to achieve its ambitions, it needs to ensure that the attention and focus Southeast Asia received over the summit (and in the months leading up to it) is sustained over the coming years (More). |
| U.S., China Sharpen Trade Swords
Lingling Wei, Bod Davis, and William Maudlin As the Trump administration pursues talks with allies on exemptions from U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, China risks escalating trade tensions with the U.S. by targeting U.S. agricultural exports from Farm Belt states…Driving the U.S. approach with its closest allies is the possibility that tensions with China may push global trading interests into two competing camps, according to some observers, one aligned with Washington, the other aligned with Beijing…By easing off with tariffs and taking its time on China sanctions, the U.S. is now giving itself time to build a trade coalition against China on several fronts…Any Chinese response to new U.S. tariffs would be measured and proportional,” said a Chinese official involved in policy-making (More). |
| Is Abdulla Yameen Handing Over the Maldives to China?
Robert Manning and Bharath Gopalaswamy China has emerged in recent years, because of its economic ascent, as a neocolonial practitioner of predatory economics, which is sparking a new Great Game in the Indo-Pacific…Opposition politicians within the Maldives fear the Chinese are setting a debt trap, as they did for Sri Lanka…it seems that the Maldives is on the verge of conceding its sovereignty to Beijing as a direct consequence of Chinese business taking advantage of the economic opportunities present in the small island country (More). |
| Redefining the Belt and Road Initiative
Andreea Brînză Ever since Xi Jinping put forward China’s attempt to recreate the old Silk Road in 2013, observers have considered the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to be a project spanning Asia, Europe, and Africa, encompassing around 65 countries that have signed up for it. The two corridors that form the BRI, the Silk Road Economic Belt (the Belt) and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (the Road), were perceived as two routes that will stretch over Eurasia or the maritime rimland, respectively, to link China with Europe (More). |
| Rodrigo Duterte to Pull the Philippines Out of International Criminal Court
Jake Maxwell Watts Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte plans to pull his country out of the International Criminal Court, putting the court’s examination of alleged crimes against humanity in the Philippines in doubt…The government denies that authorities systematically execute suspected drug traffickers…The decision to withdraw from the ICC caps weeks of insult-trading between Mr. Duterte and officials of the United Nations…Last year Burundi became the first country to leave the 15-year-old ICC. The ordeal comes in tandem with increasing corruption reports in Cambodia as well as genocide in Myanmar (More).
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| Trump Decision to Meet Kim Wasn’t Impulsive, Aides Say
Ted Mann and Gordon Lubold President Donald Trump’s advisers on Sunday argued that his surprise decision to agree to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was less impulsive than it appeared to U.S. allies and members of Congress…The remarks by Mr. Trump’s cabinet officials suggested the president’s surprise decision to agree to meet with Mr. Kim had been made in line with a broader strategy of combating the North Korean nuclear threat…A small group of White House officials were aware that the South Koreans would convey and invitation from Mr. Kim, and that Mr. Trump planned to accept it, but the president’s decision to tell the South Korean delegation to announce it to the world was unexpected (More). |
| Continuity Behind Strengthening Singapore-Malaysia Ties
David Han The eight Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat held both symbolic and physical milestones for the two nations. Leaders Lee Hsien Loong and Najib Razak of Singapore and Malaysia respectively agreed to build a rapid transit system linking Johor Bahru and Singapore dubbed by some as a mini Belt and Road Initiative. Besides the apparent transportation benefits, the project underscores Singaporean and Malaysian interdependence and their willingness to improve historical acrimonious relations. Though public condemnation of Malaysia’s political and social deficiencies by Singaporean sultans (e.g. Ibrahim Ismail) as well as the looming elections and power transfer challenge the partnership, both Lee and Razak are expecting only a continuation of improving relations (More). |
| Washington Strikes Back Against Chinese Investment
Elias Groll and Keith Johnson A new bill moving forward on Capitol Hill would expand regulators’ ability to block Chinese acquisitions — and U.S. ventures abroad…Chinese internet giant Baidu made a big investment in American lidar specialist Velodyne in 2016…That Velodyne investment represents exactly the kind of increasingly aggressive Chinese investment to snap up cutting-edge technology that could give Beijing both an economic and a military advantage…But the bill lawmakers are proposing in both the House and the Senate doesn’t just update U.S. government oversight of incoming investments. It also takes aim at outbound investments and ventures by U.S. firms (More). |
| The Chinese Navy Can Make North Korean Sanctions Bite
Donald Rauch Joint U.S.-Chinese naval operations would put real pressure on Pyongyang — and are in China’s interests, too…As China increasingly seeks to assert itself as a dominant player in the region, North Korea is becoming a liability. China still views North Korea as a strategic buffer against democratic South Korea and, by proxy, the United States, but the cost of propping up an embarrassing regime is outweighing the strategic value. What China seeks most of all is regional stability, and North Korea’s actions are having a markedly destabilizing effect on the Korean Peninsula…China will not intentionally allow the North Korean regime to collapse…But there seems to be an increasing willingness to apply the screws to Kim over the nuclear issue (More). |
| China-South Korea Relations: A Delicate Détente
Kristian McGuire China-South Korea relations have shown some signs of improvement after late October 2017, when Beijing and Seoul announced their shared desire to put their relationship back on a positive track. But rather than achieving a lasting détente, the two countries have simply reached a new stage in an ongoing negotiation over Seoul’s approach to regional security…Yet key differences between the two countries’ North Korea strategies have not been fully resolved. These unresolved issues will become exceedingly difficult for the two sides to manage if progress toward denuclearizing North Korea is not forthcoming in the near future (More). |
| North Korean General’s Presence at Olympics Closing Ceremony Presents a Quandary for the U.S. Jonathan ChengThe Wall Street Journal, February 22, 2018 Pyongyang’s plan to have an army general tied to two attacks on South Korean forces lead North Korea’s delegation to the Winter Olympics’ closing ceremonies this weekend presents a diplomatic quandary for U.S. presidential adviser Ivanka Trump…In response to US VP Mike Pence’s ignoring of North Korean envoys, U.S. later said a meeting between Mr. Pence and the North Koreans had been planned, but that Pyongyang had canceled at the last minute…The U.S. delegation this weekend will need to decide how to treat the presence of the general, Kim Yong Chol, on whom Seoul has imposed sanctions for his alleged role in the 2010 sinking of a South Korean warship, which killed 46 sailors, and the bombardment of a South Korean island the same year. (More). |
| South Korean President Hopes Olympics Will Prompt U.S. Dialogue With North
Jonathan Cheng and Eun-Young Jeong South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Saturday that he remained hopeful that a recent inter-Korean rapprochement around the Olympics could lead to dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea… Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister, who was making a last-minute trip to the Winter Olympics in South Korea, extended an invitation for Mr. Moon to visit Pyongyang…DPRK lashed out at U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, who caused a small furor last week by not standing when the two Koreas marched under a unified flag at the Opening Ceremony, and for ignoring the North Korean delegation, which included Mr. Kim’s younger sister Kim Yo Jong. Still president Moon hopes for the best (More). |
| North and South Korea marched together under one flag at the Olympics
Zeeshan Aleem North and South Korea marched under a united flag at the 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Pyeongchang on Friday in a symbolic break in tensions between the two nations over North Korea’s nuclear program…It was a rare but not unprecedented spectacle…But this year’s gesture of unity comes at a crucial moment. Tensions between North Korea and South Korea have skyrocketed as Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs have advanced at an astonishing pace in the past year, and North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, has persistently demonstrated a readiness to make use of them (More).
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| Pledges to Improve ASEAN Rights System Rings Hollow
Yuyun Wahyuningrum Ten years ago, the ASEAN Charter came into force. Its Article 14 on the establishment of its human rights body was said to be the most difficult section to bring all member states to consensus…The Making of the ASEAN Charter provides an interesting account on its debates among members of the high-level task force, comprising eminent appointed individuals. In an attempt to revise its stance on human rights on its decennial anniversary, participant nations agreed to enact change but with little conviction (More).
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| Maldives crisis: ex-President Nasheed Seeks India’s Help
Shubhajit Roy Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed asked India to intervene militarily to resolve the political crisis characterized by incumbent Abdulla Yameen’s imposition of a state of emergency and arrest of Supreme Court Chief Justice Adbulla Saeed and also Former President Maumoon Gayoom. ..India is examining a host of options: targeted travel ban for top brass of Yameen government, restricting visas for Maldives nationals to India, and squeezing aid and trade with the island nation….However, China, which sends the highest number of tourists to Maldives, has not issued a strong statement against the Yameen government so far (More). |
| Sam Sokha at ‘risk of imminent deportation’ in Thailand
Zaheena Rasheed A woman who fled Cambodia to avoid prosecution for throwing a shoe at a billboard of Prime Minister Hun Sen has been arrested in Thailand and is at imminent risk of deportation…”But deporting her to Cambodia is like sending her to her death” said her lawyer Koreeyor Manuchae…The move against Sokha came amid a sweeping crackdown on dissent in Cambodia…Human rights groups said Thailand, in recent years, has forcibly returned more than a hundred refugees and asylum seekers based on the requests of foreign governments ignoring the international principle of non-re-foulement (More). |
| Belated engagement after 25 years: towards stronger ASEAN-India ties
Niranjan Marjani The diplomatic calendar of India and ASEAN has been a busy one in the past few months. Last year marked completion of 25 years of India’s Look East Policy. The 15th ASEAN-India Summit held in November 2017 was followed by the ASEAN-India Connectivity Summit in December 2017. Earlier this month the ASEAN-India Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Indian Diaspora Day) was held in Singapore. On Jan. 26 the heads of states or governments of all the ten ASEAN countries became chief guests for India’s Republic Day Parade… India and ASEA in the past 25 years have they been making efforts to realize the full potential of their relations. These overtime engagements would certainly go a long way in converging the interests of both India and ASEAN (More).
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| China to Be Focus of U.S. Trade Policy This Year, White House Says
Jacob M. Schlesinger
President Donald Trump’s “America First” trade policy will be more focused in the coming year on countering China, after a first year tangling with allies ranging from North America to Europe and Asia. “There’s a lot of consensus around the viewpoint that China does need to be the focal point, because China’s behaviors are causing significant problems for the U.S. economy and for the global trading system”… Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, replied “We are willing to make concerted efforts with the United States to stay committed to building the robust, steady and sound economic relations.” (More).
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| Koreas Strike Deal on Olympic Unity as U.S. Pressures North
Andrew Jeong and Jonathan Cheng The Wall Street Journal, January 17, 2018 Athletes from North and South Korea will march together under a single flag at the Winter Olympics next month, the South said Wednesday—part of a sweeping agreement on the games that marks Seoul’s most ardent and public embrace of its nuclear-armed rival in a decade…The agreement could also strain relations between Seoul and its American allies…South Korea’s government is, in essence, offering some diplomatic cover to Pyongyang amid the North’s standoff with the Trump administration. But “Speculating on whether this will eventually lead to denuclearization talks is getting ahead of ourselves,” said Mr. Kim, the adviser (More). |
| Trump open to direct talks with North Korea
The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun, January 11, 2018 U.S. President Donald Trump threw his weight behind the Olympics-inspired diplomatic opening with North Korea, telling South Korea’s leader Wednesday that the United States was open to talks with Kim Jong Un’s government under the right circumstances…But South Korea’s presidential office also said Trump told Moon to let North Korea understand that there will be no military action of any kind (More). |
Where will Malaysia’s trade policy go post-TPP?
Shankaran Nambiar
East Asia Forum, August 10, 2017
President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) has set in motion a total re-think of trade policy in Malaysia. Malaysia’s relations with the United States are in a state of flux. There is little comfort for Malaysian policymakers in what’s been coming out of Washington. Trump has classified Malaysia (along with Thailand, Indonesia and a host of other countries) as a trade ‘cheater’, largely because Malaysia has a large trade surplus with the United States (More).
Yoichi Funabashi
The Japan Times, August 10, 2017
The Trump administration unilaterally pulled the United States from the TPP, and in trade negotiations demonstrates a strong inclination toward bilateral agreements. This is of growing concern to members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which hold dear the principle of multilateralism. Even more worrisome, however, is the fact that the American commitment to security matters in the Asia-Pacific region has become increasingly dubious (More).
Beijing’s Asean diplomatic coup
Richard Javad Heydarian
The Straits Times, August 10, 2017
Rising tensions in the South China Sea, as well as the Korean peninsula, dominated discussions at the latest ministerial meetings of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean)…On both issues, China not only avoided criticism of its behaviour, but projected leadership with diplomatic finesse. In contrast, the United States struggled to exercise its traditional role as the anchor of stability and prosperity in the region…China portrays rising tensions over South China Sea as interference by non-claimant states (More).
Sumit Ganguly
Foreign Affairs, August 09, 2017
For over a month, Indian and Chinese troops have been facing off on the Doklam Plateau, a disputed patch of land in the Himalayas near the junction of Bhutan, Tibet, and the Indian state of Sikkim. The impasse began with China’s decision to build a road on territory also claimed by Bhutan. The Chinese construction project, which was discovered in June, led to Bhutanese protests. These drew in India, which decided to increase the number of its troops in the area. New Delhi backs Bhutan’s claim and is called on to help address the country’s security concerns by the terms of a bilateral treaty renewed in 2007 (More).
What a Family Feud Reveals About Singapore’s Political Future
Prashanth Parameswaran
World Politics Review, August 09, 2017
Since June, Singapore has been gripped by a public spat between the three children of the city-state’s revered founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, over the future of a family home. While some have downplayed the episode—which involves Singapore’s current prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, Lee’s eldest son—as a mere family feud, in reality the dispute reflects broader concerns about the future of Singapore’s politics and the government’s ability to manage domestic and foreign policy changes in the post-Lee Kuan Yew era (More).
Asia’s evolving security order
Le Hong Hiep
The Japan Times, August 08, 2017
Japan and Vietnam are stepping up strategic cooperation as China grows more assertive. During his visit to Hue, Vietnam’s former royal capital, earlier this year, Emperor Akihito and his entourage were reminded of their country’s long-standing cultural connections with Vietnam…Emperor Akihito’s visit to Vietnam — the first by a Japanese monarch — represents an important milestone in the maturing bilateral relationship, which has been buttressed not only by strong cultural links, but also by robust economic ties and growing strategic cooperation (More).
Five pillars for a US strategy on the South China Sea
Joseph Chinyong Liow
The Straits Times, August 01, 2017
Under President Donald Trump, the United States has become a distracted power. Ongoing investigations into alleged Russian involvement in last year’s presidential election cast a long shadow over the presidency, and healthcare policy has become a war of attrition within the President’s own party…Many analysts lament the lack of strategic vision in the Trump administration’s approach to the South China Sea. Such a strategy can be crafted on five pillars: international law, deterrence, incentives, diplomatic engagement, and keeping an Asean focus (More).
Rising Violence in Thailand’s ‘Deep South’ Exposes Cracks in the Junta’s Strategy
Michael Hart
World Politics Review, August 01, 2017
Amid a recent spate of attacks, and with peace talks floundering, the long-running separatist insurgency in southern Thailand is showing worrying signs of escalation…Peace talks between Thailand’s ruling military junta, which seized power after toppling the democratically elected government in a 2014 coup, and a loose organization of rebel groups have been ongoing for more than two years. However, little progress has been made, as the most powerful militant group—known as Barisan Revolusi Nasional, or BRN—have been excluded from the dialogue (More).
50 years on, the South China Sea stands between Asean and ‘one community’
Cary Huang
South China Morning Post, August 01, 2017
China and Asean have set a good example on regional economic integration to bring about mutual benefit. But the deeper economic engagement between China and its smaller neighbours does not automatically translate into trust and friendship. Instead, mutual suspicion is on the rise, due to conflicting geopolitical interests amid rising US-China rivalry over domination of regional affairs… many Asean members are caught between ‘China opportunities’ and the ‘China threat’, as they walk a tightrope between security ally US and an assertive Beijing, with disputes in the South China Sea threatening regional stability (More).
After all that embracing, has US left India out in the cold over standoff with China?
Sumit Ganguly
South China Morning Post, July 31, 2017
For nearly two months, troops from the Indian Army and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have been deployed at close quarters on the Doklam plateau near the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction. Amid much feverish commentary on the risks of a wider conflict, there has been a deafening silence on one critical issue – the role of the United States. Apart from one very anodyne – not to mention obvious – response from the US Department of State that India and China should seek ways to resolve the conflict peacefully, India’s supposed “natural ally” has said precious little (More).
Deceptive lull in South China Sea
Ravi Velloor
The Straits Times, July 28, 2017
One year after the international arbitration tribunal at The Hague resoundingly ruled against China’s claim to most of the South China Sea it would seem that Beijing has prevailed with its firm stand on the issue and refusal to acknowledge the ruling, much less abide by it…It is commonly believed in South-east Asia that former US President Barack Obama’s failure to hold Mr Xi to his promise of not militarising the South China Sea probably contributed to Beijing’s subsequent assertive behaviour in those waters (More).
Is the U.S. Pushing Back Enough Against China’s Efforts to Isolate Taiwan?
Theresa Lou, Ashley Feng
World Politics Review, July 28, 2017
Late last month, the Trump administration approved its first package of arms sales to Taiwan. For Taipei, this welcome news was long overdue, but not nearly enough to stop its slide toward international isolation. Taiwan recently lost Panama, one of its few remaining diplomatic allies, to China, when the Panamanian government severed its diplomatic ties to Taipei and officially recognized Beijing instead. The tiny African island nation of Sao Tome and Principe made the same decision in late December (More).
China’s Window of Opportunity in the South China Sea
Xue Li and Cheng Zhangxi
The Diplomat, July 26, 2017
The South China Sea (SCS) issue has now arrived at a critical point. China should take the advantages of this opportunity to adjust its South China Sea approach – to steer from a “unilateral win” formula to “multilateral win” formula, so as to take lead in the problem-solving process. This new approach should drive the South China Sea problem-solving process to a faster track, in the process clearing out major obstacles to building a Southeast Asian hub for the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR) (More).
China’s North Korean Liability
Zhu Feng
Foreign Affairs, July 11, 2017
On July 8, at the G-20 summit in Hamburg, U.S. President Donald Trump held a cordial press conference with Chinese President Xi Jinping where they discussed how they would address the growing threat of North Korea. Just days before, on July 4, as many Americans were observing Independence Day, North Korea announced that it had successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching Alaska. This was likely on Trump’s mind at the summit when he told this Chinese counterpart that he believed the two of them would “come to a successful conclusion” in reining in Pyongyang. The key challenge, of course, is how they will get there (More).
Don’t allow Taiwan issue to strain Sino-US ties
South China Morning Post, July 4, 2017
The latest US arms sale to Taiwan may step up the pressure on Beijing over North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. But it has added to tensions beneath the surface in relations between Beijing and Washington… It is clear from Trump’s urging of Xi to step up pressure on Pyongyang that the Americans felt China could have done more to exert its economic leverage over the rogue nuclear state. Xi in turn urged Trump to abide by the recent reaffirmation of the one-China principle and a decades-old undertaking during the normalisation of bilateral relations to taper arms sales to Taiwan (More).
The standoff in Doklam
Shyam Saran
The Tribune, July 4, 2017
The latest face-off between the Indian and Chinese security forces in Doklam, where the borders of India, China and Bhutan meet, brings a sense of déjà vu. There was a similar extended face-off in the Depsang area in Ladakh in April 2013. There have been other incidents as well but the mechanisms in place to maintain peace and tranquillity at the border have eventually worked and the issues have been resolved. Both sides have remained committed to preventing escalation. One hopes that the Doklam incident will not be allowed to vitiate the relationship between the two countries, particularly in view of the fact that Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly had a friendly meeting on the sidelines of the recent meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Almaty (More).
China takes Security Council presidency in July, putting wide-ranging crises on agenda
William M. Reilly
Xinhua, July 4, 2017
Ambassador Liu Jieyi of China, UN Security Council president for July, said on Monday that issues of Syria, Yemen, South Sudan, Colombia, Haiti and Cyprus will be on the agenda of the 15-nation council in July… Liu addressed the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, even though not formally listed on the council’s July agenda. He reiterated the Chinese “suspension for suspension” proposal package – suspension of nuclear and ballistic testing on the part of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and suspension of the military exercises on the part of the United States and the Republic of Korea
(More).
Trump Dumping ‘China First’ Policies
Gordon G. Chang
World Affairs, July 3, 2017
It looks like America has a new China policy…US officials believe President Trump is unhappy with Beijing and is thinking of trade actions against China. His frustration follows more than two months of generally unsuccessful attempts to get the Chinese to help Washington disarm North Korea…Previous US administrations subordinated America’s interests and let these and other issues fester as they sought to integrate China into the international system. Trump, however, has announced he will not pursue what has amounted to the “China First” policies of his predecessors (More).
The rebirth of the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Koichi Hamada
The Japan Times, July 3, 2017
When Donald Trump, in one of his first acts as president, announced that the United States would not participate in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, many assumed that the mega-regional trade deal was dead. But such assumptions may have been premature… But many relevant players, eager to prevent the TPP from crumbling, soon began to discuss moving forward without the U.S… Japan and New Zealand announced that they would seek an agreement with other signatories by November to move the TPP forward. If they succeed, TPP signatories will benefit substantially — and the U.S. may well find that it has missed a massive opportunity (More).
Trump and China: implications for Southeast Asia
Robert Sutter
East Asia Forum, July 3, 2017
Before his inauguration, Chinese specialists judged that Trump, as a pragmatic businessman, could be ‘shaped’ to align with Chinese interests and would ultimately be easier to deal with than Clinton. President-elect Trump soon upended these sanguine expectations with a few gestures, comments and tweets… China’s new uncertainty over the US president added to reasons for Beijing to avoid — at least for now — controversial expansions in the disputed South China Sea. How long this will last is a guessing game (More).
Singapore cannot be cowed by size
Bilahari Kausikan
The Straits Times, July 3, 2017
The Straits Times published an article by diplomat Kishore Mahbubani, “Qatar: Big Lessons From A Small Country”, in which he said the experience of Qatar reminds Singapore of the need for small states to behave like small states, and to cherish regional and international institutions…The article sparked much discussion online…Diplomat Bilahari Kausikan posted this response on his Facebook page to Kishore Mahbubani’s article (More).
Qatar: Big lessons from a small country
Kishore Mahbubani
The Straits Times, July 1, 2017
…what is happening in Qatar is not just about regional rivalry in the Middle East, or power play between the superpowers. In Singapore, we should pay close attention to developments there, and most of all, draw the right lessons from Qatar’s current plight, no matter how hard it may be to swallow the painful lessons from this episode… Qatar episode holds many lessons for Singapore. We ignore them at our peril. There are at least three big lessons we should learn and take corrective actions to implement the learning (More).
For Russia, Putin Power Is Losing Some of Its Shine
Stratfor, June 29, 2017
Despite a show of strength and a charm offensive, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government is beginning to show its age. Russia is facing a dangerous protest movement against Putin’s system, and he has responded with heavy-handed crackdowns and winsome public appearances. The message from the Kremlin is clear: Putin is a strong leader and a man of the people. But the message is beginning to sound stale, and a reckoning may be peeking above the horizon. Even before his rise to power, Putin and his elites had been shaping the story behind the Russian leader (More).
Beijing’s Debt Dilemma
Edoardo Campanella
Foreign Affairs, June 29, 2017
China’s ballooning corporate debt remains the number one systemic risk to global economic recovery. If the bubble bursts, it will drag down the rest of the world while compromising Chinese Premier Xi Jinping’s grip on power ahead of the Chinese Communist Party congress late in the year. Beijing understands that the debt is hardly sustainable, so over the last two years it has engineered a sophisticated macroeconomic strategy to artificially boost factory prices, increase profits, and ease loan repayments for the most troubled companies (More).
Is It Time to Reassess the U.S.-South Korea Alliance?
Michael Auslin
The Atlantic, June 29, 2017
The failure of a quarter-century of diplomacy has left the North Korean dictatorship on the cusp of possessing a nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile. For the first time since 1953, when the United States committed to protecting the South from another invasion from the North, the American homeland will soon come under direct threat from one of the world’s most ruthless regimes…the United States is at loggerheads with the Kim regime because of its commitment to the South—the alliance is not a symptom of today’s crisis between Washington and Pyongyang (More).
Summit safeguards Indo-US ties from Trump the tweeter
Pramit Pal Chaudhuri
Hindustan Times, June 29, 2017
India has used Trump the president to buffer relations with the United States against Trump the reality TV star. Indian and US officials privately express relief that the Narendra Modi–Donald Trump summit went off smoothly. Fears of the unpredictable can be projected to the entire Indo-US relationship. With Trump broadly endorsing the India line of his predecessors, the room for policy randomness was suitably reduced. That alone made the summit a success as far as Indian officials were concerned (More).
Khmer Rouge Tribunal Ends With Justification, Not Denial
Nicole Weinrauch
The Cambodia Daily, June 29, 2017
The world has just heard closing arguments in the last active litigation of the series of great human atrocities of the 20th century, this time the Cambodian genocide of 1975 to 1979. Rarely have such trials passed to broad local or international satisfaction, and the much maligned U.N.-sponsored Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) is no exception. Four decades after the horrific death toll of at least 1.5 million during the People’s Republic of Kampuchea, the nine-year tribunal can boast of three convictions of men at the end of their lives at a cost of $300 million (More).
Trump’s South China Sea Policy Leaves U.S. Allies Perplexed—and Anxious
Berkshire Miller
World Politics Review, June 26, 2017
On June 21, the United States and China held their first-ever Diplomatic and Security Dialogue in Washington. The dialogue, co-chaired on the American side by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis, is a new iteration of engagement that evolved from the April meeting between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, at Mar-a-Lago. Along with other newly created discussions on trade and law enforcement issues, the dialogue is aimed at narrowing the focus of the former U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, which met annually during the Obama administration (More).
Japan and ‘One Belt, One Road’
The Japan Times, June 24, 2017
Reversing his position, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has indicated that Japan is ready to cooperate with China’s “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) initiative for cross-continental infrastructure development under certain conditions. He is also now willing to consider Japan joining the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) — of which Japan, along with the United States, sat out when it was set up in 2015 — once doubts about its governance and operation are cleared. While these shifts may be motivated by concerns that Tokyo could be left behind as Beijing and Washington move closer in trying to restrain North Korea, it’s time that Japan also take steps to rebuild its strained ties with China, and cooperating with the Chinese initiatives should be a good start (More).
BRICS cooperation shows strong vitality
Xinhua, June 19, 2017
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said…that the BRICS cooperation has shown strong vitality during the past ten years. Wang made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the meeting of BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Relations…He said BRICS cooperation has greater importance, as the five countries’ share in global economy has increased from 12 percent to 23 percent in the past decade while they have contributed more than half of global growth (More).
Mapping Strategic Narratives in the Bay of Bengal Region
Constantino Xavier, Marc Saxer
Carnegie India, June 15, 2017
The idea of Bay of Bengal as a multilateral, strategic, and economic community has engendered multiple interests and narratives around the bay. Therefore, identifying potential areas of cooperation would involve examining the geopolitical landscape manifested in the discourses of this region.Carnegie India’s Bay of Bengal Initiative, in partnership with Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung India, organized a workshop to map the discourses surrounding the Bay in India, which can be used to identify opportunities for cooperation by locating the center of political activity (More).
South Korea Suspends Deployment of U.S. Antimissile System
Motoko Rich
The New York Times, June 7, 2017
South Korea’s newly elected president, Moon Jae-in, has suspended the deployment of an American missile defense system designed to counter North Korean threats, clearly signaling a less friendly approach to the United States’ agenda than his predecessor’s…The missile defense system, known as Thaad, has been controversial in South Korea and has drawn sharp criticism from China, which views the system’s radar as a threat. China took retaliatory economic measures against South Korea, including curtailing the flow of Chinese tourists and punishing South Korean companies in China (More).
Raja Mandala: Transacting with Trump
Raja Mohan
The Indian Express, June 6, 2017
Adapting to Trump will not come easily to the Indian system that has refused to be transactional in its approach to the United States over the last two decades. In the process, it missed big opportunities in converting the goodwill of two presidents into tangible gains. Consider the historic civil nuclear initiative offered by Bush. Delhi spent years examining this gift horse in the mouth. Nor has it taken full benefit of the opportunities for defence cooperation with the US and its allies in the last few years. The inability to seize the fleeting moments of opportunity created by Indian diplomacy has long been a characteristic of India’s overall governance (More).
Tokyo proposes reciprocal Abe-Xi visits in 2018
Nikkei Asian Review, June 6, 2017
A Japanese proposal to China…would see Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Xi Jinping pay each other visits next year…The leaders of the two countries have not visited each other in the same year since 2008, when Yasuo Fukuda was Japan’s prime minister and Hu Jintao was China’s president. The hope is that resuming active top-level dialogue will warm the countries’ often-icy ties and deepen economic cooperation. This, in turn, might help the governments smooth things over on more contentious issues, such as security (More).
Myanmar’s peace process and international players
Kavi Chongkittavorn
The Nation, June 05, 2017
When the second session of the 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference was held last month, China emerged as the most important foreign player. Other countries long associated with the push for peace before the current process took shape have had to fine-tune their roles to ensure the process is inclusive. This is an indigenous effort to end a half century of war between the Tatmadaw and ethnic armed groups. Unlike other peace processes in Southeast Asia and elsewhere, where a third-party mediator or facilitator is often called upon to assist the conflicting groups. However, the current peace effort faces a challenge from assertive outside players, whose core interests would be affected if they remain benign (More).
Trump Hosts Prime Minister Phuc of Vietnam and Announces Trade Deals
Mark Landler
The New York Times, May 31, 2017
President Trump welcomed the prime minister of Vietnam to the Oval Office…cutting business deals and discussing the transfer of a Coast Guard cutter to a onetime enemy that the United States now views as a front-line defender against an expansionist China. It was Mr. Trump’s first meeting with the prime minister, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and the president had warm words for his guest, despite having raised concerns within the Vietnamese government on both economic and security fronts early in his administration (More).
China Woos South Korea’s New Leader, but the U.S. Left Behind a Spoiler
Jane Perlez
The New York Times, May 31, 2017
When he assumed power in 2013, President Xi Jinping of China tried to court one of America’s main Asian allies, South Korea. It worked for a while. Then the relationship soured…Now Mr. Xi is trying again, wooing South Korea’s new leader, Moon Jae-in, and still hoping to chip away at the American alliance with South Korea and fortify China’s position in Northeast Asia. Mr. Moon, a proponent of engagement with North Korea, is a more natural friend for Mr. Xi than the conservative Ms. Park, who is in jail facing corruption charges (More).
Dialogue suggests China, Japan can find a way out of impasse
China Daily, May 31, 2017
That Beijing and Tokyo both underlined the need to take each other as a potential partner rather than a threat was an important outcome of their just concluded fourth high-level political dialogue. Amid their seemingly endless impasse, that both sides have taken note of the damaging potential of mutual distrust and aspire to improve bilateral relations represents a step toward breaking the deadlock…As everybody knows, there is a long shadow of history that prevents the countries from getting really close, especially under the current leadership in Japan which is unwilling to let the past rest in peace. But that does not mean there is no way out (More).
China, US vie for friendship with the Philippines, while Duterte hedges
Alessandro Uras
Myanmar Times, May 25, 2017
The rapprochement between China and the Philippines has ostensibly avoided the prospect of a confrontation in the South China Sea. On the sidelines of a two-day summit about China’s global development project, held in Beijing on May 14-15, the Philippine ambassador announced plans for talks with China over its territorial claims in the sea. 2016 was one of the most important years in the evolution of the South China Sea dispute. On July 12, the Arbitral Tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled overwhelmingly in the Philippines’ favour over the disputed area. China’s worst nightmare materialised in the form of a legal ruling on the dispute. The Philippines successfully exposed the legal weakness of Chinese claims to the territory under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) (More).
TPP revival a boon amid rising protectionism
Chia Yan Min
The Straits Times, May 24, 2017
United States President Donald Trump sounded an apparent death knell for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact in January when he decided to withdraw the world’s largest economy from the 12-nation agreement. But the TPP has got a new lease of life. The remaining signatories, including Singapore, have agreed to move the trade deal forward without the US…It remains to be seen whether the TPP can actually be brought to fruition without the participation of the US, but this revival of its prospects is good news for small, trade-dependent Singapore. (More).
Can the U.S. Pivot Back to Asia?
Ziad Haider
Foreign Affairs, May 23, 2017
China’s sweeping Belt and Road Initiative, which involves reviving the ancient Silk Road linking Asia to Europe, has become the most visible symbol of China’s rising ambitions. Ever since the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the plug on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) earlier this year, abandoning its chance to set the rules of international commerce, China has seized the opportunity to prove it can assume the mantle of global economic leadership…Belt and Road is an enormous endeavor…Once complete, the “belt” will include a massive network of highways and railways linking China to Central Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. The “road” will consist of a series of maritime routes between Southeast Asia and Europe (More).
Shangri-La Dialogue should address Asia’s new strategic order
Hugh White
The Straits Times, May 23, 2017
Each year, the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore provides a platform for Washington to affirm America’s strategic commitment to Asia, promote its policies to strengthen United States regional leadership, and push back against China’s encroachments. And it gives America’s friends and allies in Asia an opportunity to line up in support. This year, that won’t be so easy, either for America or its allies…So far the only thing that seems clear is that the Obama-era “Pivot to Asia” slogan is dead. But the evidence suggests that something bigger is happening than just a change in terminology (More).
Atoms for Pyongyang
Richard Rhodes and Michael Shellenberger
Foreign Affairs, May 23, 2017
Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump said that “under the right circumstances,” he would meet with North Korean President Kim Jong Un, who continues to increase his nation’s nuclear arsenal. With the recent election in South Korea of President Moon Jae-in, who campaigned for renewed negotiations between the two Koreas, the circumstances might indeed be just right. Kim Jong Un has repeatedly stated that he wants the same thing North Korea’s previous leaders—his father, Kim Jong Il, and grandfather Kim Il Sung—wanted…North Korea’s president is fully aware that attacking the United States would be tantamount to suicide (More).
Japan-India civil nuclear pact
The Japan Times, May 19, 2017
The Lower House approval of the civil nuclear cooperation pact between Japan and India this week makes it certain that the pact will now take effect, given the chamber’s superiority in endorsing international treaties. However, questions raised and problems pointed out over the pact — including the ambiguities over whether Japan can terminate the accord if India carries out another nuclear test — were left unaddressed as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling coalition pushed it through the Diet. The first such pact Japan has concluded with a country outside of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) regime was designed to promote exports of the nation’s nuclear power plant technology, but the feasibility of Japanese firms’ overseas nuclear power business is increasingly in doubt (More).
OBOR? Oh boy
The Japan Times, May 18, 2017
For years, China’s leadership followed the guidance of former leader Deng Xiaoping, who urged the country to “hide our capacities … maintain a low profile and never claim leadership.” Last weekend marked the end of that era as President Xi Jinping hosted an international gathering that sought to sell Beijing’s “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR), a multitrillion dollar regional infrastructure initiative. Xi’s “project of the century” has many purposes, not least of which is assertion of China’s leading role in Asia and beyond, a bid to fill a vacuum that is emerging in the wake of the Trump administration’s “America First” approach (More).
Southeast Asia: A Notch in China’s Belt and Road Initiative
Stratfor, May 18, 2017
Southeast Asia is the pivot of China’s sprawling 65-nation Belt and Road Initiative. The region’s growing markets, numerous manufacturing hubs and abundant natural resources offer Beijing a wealth of economic opportunities. But its greater value to China is rooted in geopolitics. As the country’s economy has exploded in recent decades, it has come to rely on external trade routes. Today, one of Beijing’s top priorities is protecting these routes from foreign interdiction, especially in the South China Sea and Strait of Malacca. The chief goal behind China’s Belt and Road Initiative is twofold: To establish secure sea routes from its coast to the Mediterranean Sea and to create alternative supply routes overland to ensure its continued access to foreign markets in the event of a maritime cutoff. Southeast Asia serves both of these ends (More).
Asia in the Trump Era
Bilahari Kausikan
Foreign Affairs, May/June 2017
Donald Trump ran for office promising to overturn U.S. policy toward Asia. He threatened to launch a trade war against China, calling for a 45 percent tariff on Chinese imports to the United States and promising to label Beijing a currency manipulator. After his election as U.S. president, he broke with four decades of precedent when he spoke to Taiwan’s leader on the phone and declared that the United States might not uphold the “one China” policy—the foundation of U.S.-Chinese ties—under which the United States does not formally recognize the Taiwanese government. On his first full weekday in office, Trump withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the 12-nation, U.S.-led trade deal that many in the American foreign policy establishment saw as crucial to preserving U.S. influence in the region (More).
Raja Mandala: The myth of a political bond
Raja Mohan
The Indian Express, January 10, 2017
As India’s relations with China continue to head south, Delhi will find it difficult to sustain a core belief about its engagement with Beijing. India has long insisted that Delhi has shared global interests with Beijing and must build on them despite enduring differences on the bilateral level…India’s problem with China is that Delhi’s ideas of shared global interest in the multilateral domain have run into Beijing’s calculus on the regional balance of power in the Subcontinent. If India has let idealism shape its thinking on China, Beijing never stopped seeing Delhi through the lens of realism. It was a deep conviction about shared Asian identity and a common agenda to counter western hegemony and build a multipolar world that has driven India to extend unflinching support to China in the global arena. It received little in return (More).
UAE plan to send paratroopers for Republic Day grounded
The Economic Times, January 10, 2017
The UAE’s proposal to send a military paratrooper team for a live display during the Republic Day parade was grounded after the Indian side shared security concerns and pointed out that the weather may play spoilsport. Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is the chief guest at the parade…while the plan for the paratrooper team to skydive on Rajpath could not be taken forward, India requested UAE for a marching contingent and a military band for the parade. If accepted, this would be the second time that a foreign military contingent would take part in India’s annual Republic Day parade…Following PM Narendra Modi’s visit in 2015, Indian defence delegations have made several visits, exploring ways of enhancing cooperation. India also sees UAE as a major potential defence export destination (More).
Time for a U.S.-Japanese Free Trade Agreement?
Michael Auslin
Foreign Affairs, January 9, 2017
Days before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office, there are few that hold out hope for the survival of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama’s failure to push the 12-nation pact through the U.S. Congress allowed it to become a political football in the 2016 presidential election, disavowed by both Trump and his opponent, Hillary Clinton…Some of Trump’s senior advisers…have declared that the TPP will not be resurrected. Other voices…have supported the TPP in the past and indicated that it might be renegotiated. Having made a public announcement just after the election that he intends to withdraw from the TPP on “day one,” however, Trump will find it difficult to back down, at least without a backup plan. Such a backup plan has already been hinted at by the president-elect, who on multiple occasions has noted his preference for transparent bilateral trade agreements that do not harm U.S. workers (More).
India is a major strategic partner, and will remain so, says French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault
Indrani Bagchi
The Times of India, January 8, 2017
India is laying a great deal of emphasis on the Indian Ocean region…”We have major shared ambitions regarding maritime security and cooperation in the Indian Ocean. Of course, France is also an Indian Ocean country, because of Reunion Island. France has always considered India to be an essential partner for regional stability and security. Our two countries work together, be it cooperation between our navies or industrial matters. We regularly hold an annual bilateral dialogue to strengthen our relations in this area. In fact, its next session will take place in Delhi in a few days’ time.” (More)
Muted U.S. Response to China’s Seizure of Drone Worries Asian Allies
Jane Perlez
The New York Times, December 18, 2016
Only a day before a small Chinese boat sidled up to a United States Navy research vessel in waters off the Philippines and audaciously seized an underwater drone from American sailors, the commander of United States military operations in the region told an audience in Australia that America had a winning military formula…In the eyes of America’s friends in Asia, the brazen maneuver to launch an operation against an American Navy vessel in international waters in the South China Sea about 50 miles from the Philippines, another close American ally, has raised questions about one of the admiral’s crucial words. It was also seen by some as a taunt to President-elect Donald J. Trump, who has challenged the One China policy on Taiwan and has vowed to deal forcefully with Beijing in trade and other issues (More).
Breakthrough in Japan, Russia islands row eludes PM Abe, Putin
Kiyoshi Takenaka and Katya Golubkova
Reuters, December 18, 2016
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin wrapped up two days of talks on Friday, with numerous economic deals but no big breakthrough on a territorial row that has over-shadowed ties since World War Two…Abe and Putin agreed to launch talks on joint economic activities on disputed islands at the centre of the territorial row as a step toward concluding a peace treaty formally ending World War Two, the two sides said in a joint statement. The islands in the Western Pacific, called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kuriles in Russia, were seized by Soviet forces at the end of World War Two and 17,000 Japanese residents were forced to flee. The dispute over their sovereignty has prevented the two countries signing a peace treaty (More).
Welcome to the age of hyper-uncertainty
Barry Eichengreen
The Japan Times, December 18, 2016
The year 2017 will mark the 40th anniversary of the publication of John Kenneth Galbraith’s “The Age of Uncertainty.”…In 1977, as Galbraith was writing, the world was still reeling from the effects of the first OPEC oil price shock and wondering whether another one was in the pipeline (as it were). The United States was confronting slowing growth and accelerating inflation, or stagflation, a novel problem that raised questions about policymakers’ competence and the adequacy of their economic models. Meanwhile, efforts to rebuild the Bretton Woods international monetary system had collapsed, casting a shadow over prospects for international trade and global economic growth. For all these reasons, the golden age of stability and predictability that was the third quarter of the 20th century seemed to have abruptly drawn to a close, to be succeeded by a period of greatly heightened uncertainty (More).
As Trump riles China, Taiwan tallies defense costs
J.R. Wu
Reuters, December 16, 2016
Trump’s suggestion that the “one China” principle – that Taiwan is a part of China – was up for negotiation has already prompted saber-rattling from Chinese state media and some in the military establishment. Taipei’s ability to mitigate any military action by China will be severely limited by its weak economy and a tiny domestic arms industry that will take years to build up. And even if the United States – Taiwan’s sole arms supplier – agrees to sell the advanced weaponry the island needs to deter a Chinese attack, Taipei will struggle to pay the bill, government advisers and experts say…The ability of Taiwan to defend itself, and the willingness of the United States to help it, have been brought into sharp relief since President-elect Trump accepted an unprecedented phone call from President Tsai early this month (More).
A step forward for Japan-Russia ties
The Japan Times, December 16, 2016
The closely watched summit between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin did not appear to have produced any concrete progress on the long-standing territorial row over the group of islands off Hokkaido that were seized by Soviet forces at the end of World War II, which has prevented the two countries from concluding a formal peace treaty. Instead, Abe and Putin emphasized that joint economic activities on the disputed islands as well as a range of economic cooperation between the two countries that they agreed on in their two days of talks will help build mutual confidence and contribute to ending the “extraordinary” situation that Tokyo and Moscow lack a peace treaty seven decades after the war’s end (More).
Indonesia’s Joko Widodo visits Delhi: Civilisational siblings are on the road to mutual rediscovery
Rajiv Bhatia
The Times of India, December 15, 2016
Political leaders, officials and academics alike tend to portray India and Indonesia as “natural partners”. Most of them also recognise that in contemporary times, the relationship has not been progressing to its full potential. The visit to India by President Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, reflects both recognition of this reality and the two nations’ shared desire for course correction. It has produced a reasonable outcome, fuelling optimism about the future. As two of the world’s populous countries, Asian democracies committed to pluralism, close maritime neighbours, and emerging economies with strong complementarities, India and Indonesia have much in common (More).
India, Indonesia to prioritise defence ties: PM Modi
The Times of India, December 12, 2016
In a joint media address with visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Modi said the two nations share the value of “democracy, diversity and social harmony” and have nurtured “strong bonds of business and culture”…India and Indonesia signed three agreements following delegation-level talks here headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo… This is the first presidential visit from Indonesia to India in nearly six years since the visit of then President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in January 2011 (More).
Hedging against uncertainties in the age of Trump
Hugh White
The Straits Times, November 29, 2016
For many years now, Asia’s smaller and middle powers have pursued a policy of “hedging” against strategic uncertainty. The uncertainty they worried about was the possibility that Beijing, as its power grew, might try to replace the old US-led order in Asia with a new, more China-centred one. Their response was to engage China economically and politically, but at the same time to draw closer to the US strategically. They hoped this would bolster Washington’s capacity and willingness to resist Beijing’s strategic ambitions if they did indeed grow. Stronger links with the United States have been South-east Asia’s – and Australia’s – hedge against the possibility of a more threatening China (More).
China’s Infrastructure Play
Gal Luft
Foreign Affairs, September/October 2016 Issue
Over the past three millennia, China has made three attempts to project its economic power westward. The first began in the second century BC, during the Han dynasty, when China’s imperial rulers developed the ancient Silk Road to trade with the far-off residents of Central Asia and the Mediterranean basin; the fall of the Mongol empire and the rise of European maritime trading eventually rendered that route obsolete. In the fifteenth century AD, the maritime expeditions of Admiral Zheng. He connected Ming-dynasty China to the littoral states of the Indian Ocean. But China’s rulers recalled Zheng’s fleet less than three decades after it set out, and for the rest of imperial history, they devoted most of their attention to China’s neighbors to the east and south. Today, China is undertaking a third turn to the west—its most ambitious one yet. In 2013, Beijing unveiled a plan to connect dozens of economies across Eurasia and East Africa through a series of infrastructure investments known as the Belt and Road Initiative (More).
An Australian “China Choice”? No. But Multiple China Choices, Yes.
Richard Fontaine
The National Interest, September 11, 2016
A senior U.S. Army officer recently generated headlines on both sides of the Pacific by highlighting the strategic and economic challenges facing Australia today. Keen to maintain close ties with both their American ally and their chief economic partner in China, Australian officials are today conscious of the potential tensions that lie ahead… the notion that there is a looming “China choice” facing Australia is gathering support among portions of its strategic elite… The reality is more complex. An all-or-nothing China choice would damage both Australian and American interests, and in Canberra such a dilemma should be viewed as a policy failure rather than the inevitable outcome of economics and geopolitical competition. Rather than single, stark option, Australia will instead face a series of “China choices” on discrete issues that require Canberra to balance its economic and security risk. And therein lie the challenges (More).
New politics of discourse – more humility and respect
Kavi Chiongkittavorn
The Nation, September 12, 2016
The way Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte responded to US questioning of his government’s handling of the anti-narcotics campaign showed that future relations between the world’s most powerful country and its closest Southeast Asian ally are shifting fast. In the past, both the US and Philippines were more tolerant with each others’ misgivings – even their nincompoop leaders. Those times have gone. Aside from the Philippines, no country in this part of the world is willing now to accept or tolerate Washington’s criticism of their conduct on serious issues impacting on the social fabric – be it drugs, human trafficking, human rights, among others. This year’s US presidential campaigning and all the toxic comments made by candidates about America and its neighbours have added salt to the wounds. American creditability overseas is currently at a low level (More).
Pakistan-Russia military to hold first ever joint drills
The Economic Times, September 12, 2016
Pakistan and Russia are set to hold their first-ever joint military exercises later this year …reflecting increased military cooperation between the two former Cold War rivals. Around 200 military personnel from the two sides would take part in the joint military exercises…The move comes amidst increasing defence ties between Moscow and Islamabad as the latter was also thinking to buy advanced Russian warplanes…The joint military drill is seen as another step in growing military-to-military cooperation, indicating a steady growth in bilateral relationship between the two countries, whose ties had been marred by Cold War rivalry for decades… Islamabad is eager to improve its ties with Moscow to diversify its options in the event of any stalemate in ties with Washington (More).
Beijing and Moscow launch South China Sea naval drills
Al Jazeera, September 12, 2016
China and Russia have launched eight days of naval drills in the South China Sea in a sign of growing cooperation between the countries’ armed forces against the backdrop of regional territorial disputes. The exercises come at a time of heightened tension in the contested waters after a UN-backed tribunal ruled in July that China did not have historic rights to the South China Sea and criticised its environmental destruction there. China rejected the ruling and refused to participate in the case. The “Joint Sea-2016” war games will include exercises on “seizing and controlling” islands and shoals, according to Chinese navy spokesman Liang Yang. They will involve surface ships, submarines, fixed-wing aircraft, ship-borne helicopters, marine corps and amphibious armoured equipment from both navies, he said in a statement (More).
Keep the Pressure on Myanmar
Opinion
The New York Times, September 13, 2016
When Myanmar’s leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, meets with President Obama and members of Congress in Washington this week, one of the items for discussion will be easing the remaining American sanctions on Myanmar. That may be a tempting move, given recent efforts by Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi to end ethnic conflict and the persecution of the Rohingya, a Muslim minority group, but it would be a mistake to lift all remaining sanctions now…Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi has taken steps to heal Myanmar’s ethnic divisions. On Aug. 31, she convened a peace conference to bring together the country’s armed ethnic groups in hopes of ending decades of conflict. This month, at the invitation of her government, a team led by Kofi Annan, the former United Nations secretary general, began looking into the plight of the Rohingya. This is an important step given Myanmar’s dismal human rights record (More).
Fishing Boat Diplomacy
Scott Moore
Foreign Affairs, September 14, 2016
One of the greatest risks to world peace is a clash at sea between the United States and China. The risk of confrontation has grown steadily as Chinese power has increased, and especially since 2012, when China’s current leader, Xi Jinping, took power and introduced a far more assertive approach to China’s disputed territorial claims in the East and South China Seas. In East Asia’s littoral regions, China’s naval capabilities now rival those of the United States, and Beijing has proved itself increasingly willing to threaten close U.S. allies such as Japan with belligerent rhetoric…U.S.-Chinese maritime relations are based on more than frigates and fringing reefs. Wise handling of those relations should build on preexisting but little-known efforts to improve bilateral cooperation in the global ocean commons (More).
Six takeaways from Asean summits
Tang Siew Mun
The Straits Times, September 15, 2016
Despite hiccups such as the 49th Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) in July – where a debacle was narrowly averted by a last-gasp consensus on the joint communique – the 28th and 29th Asean Summits and related summits passed without any overt flaring of acrimony or debilitating discord that the world has come to expect at Asean meetings of late… there were strong doubts about Laos’ ability to carry out its duties objectively and not buckle to Chinese pressure when it assumed the Asean chairmanship in January…That the summits went smoothly was due to Laos’ commendable stewardship, which surprised many Asean watchers. Given that it remains highly dependent on China for trade and investment, Laos was expected to pander to Chinese interests. Instead, it showed that strategic proximity with China and the objective dispensation of Asean chairing duties were not mutually exclusive propositions (More).
Why Vietnam has India in its sights
Helen Clark
The Interpreter, September 15, 2016
Despite the publicity generated in May when President Obama visited Vietnam and lifted the arms embargo, the US remains on a lower rung of co-operation, a comprehensive partner and only that since 2013 when President Obama met his then-counterpart Truong Tan Sang… India is a good and rather obvious choice for stronger ties. There is a long history of friendship between the two (as there is between Russia and Vietnam), and the nations have had diplomatic relations for 45 years. …more recently Modi stopped off in Vietnam on the way to the G20. What came of that visit might prove to be more substantive if less immediately noteworthy: after 10 years of strategic partnership India has become Vietnam’s third comprehensive strategic partner (More).
The Changing Face of ASEAN
Luke Hunt
The Diplomat, September 15, 2016
With much of ASEAN stuck in the economic doldrums and its senior members beset with issues ranging from unprecedented levels of corruption to violent insurgencies and maritime disputes with China, the regional bloc has known better days… a more common sense approach to the region’s increasingly complex political dynamics appears to have accompanied leadership change. The electoral victory of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy in Mynamar (and her subsequent appointment as state counselor) plus the appointments of Bounnhang Vorachith as president of Laos and Nguyễn Xuân Phúc as the new prime minister in Vietnam may well have ushered in a surprising new era (More).
China, ASEAN aim to complete framework of South China Sea rules next year
Reuters, August 17, 2016
Since 2010, China and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have been discussing a set of rules aimed at avoiding conflict among rival claimants in the busy waterway…Last month, an arbitration court in the Hague ruled that China had no historic title over the South China Sea and had breached the Philippines’ sovereign rights there. The decision infuriated Beijing, which dismissed the court’s authority…Meeting in northeastern China, the two sides agreed to get the framework for the code of conduct done by mid-2017, and also approved guidelines for a China-ASEAN hotline for use during maritime emergencies (More).
Understanding Vietnam’s rocket launcher deployment in the Spratlys
Le Hong Hiep
The Straits Times, August 17, 2016
Last week, international media widely reported that Vietnam had quietly deployed an unknown number of Extended Range Artillery (Extra) rocket launchers on five features in the Spratlys. These state-of-the-art mobile rocket artillery systems are reportedly capable of striking runways and military installations on nearby artificial islands built by China recently.
Although Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the information as “inaccurate”, its Deputy Defence Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh had stated in June this year that Hanoi reserved the right to deploy such weapons for self-defence purposes…Vietnam’s deployment of the rocket launchers should not come as a surprise. Instead, it is a logical development, given the recent trajectory of the South China Sea dispute (More).
China’s Defiance in the South China Sea
The New York Times, August 13, 2016
In last month’s decision, a five-judge panel in The Hague ruled unanimously that China had no legal basis to claim longstanding rights over most of the South China Sea, which is rich in resources and carries out $5 trillion in annual trade… From the start, China refused to participate in the tribunal proceedings and has since refused to accept the ruling, while showing its defiance in numerous ways…The waterway is too strategically important and the disputes too complex for the competing claims by China and five other countries in the region to be quickly resolved. Yet provocations continue, raising questions about China’s commitment to the rule of law and heightening fears of a wider conflict (More).
A Line In the Sea
Robert A. Manning and James Przystup
Foreign Affairs, August 10, 2016
Some skirmish in the South China Sea could well become for Asia in the twenty-first century what the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was for Europe in 1914—a trigger for a broader conflict between a rising power and the established order. And such a scenario looks all the more likely after the July 12 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, which negated the very basis of China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. Beijing’s response in the weeks that followed—nationalist venting and overt rejection of the ruling through military exercises—undermines once and for all China’s claims about its peaceful rise…the ruling at The Hague does offer Beijing a chance to rethink the complex issues of sovereignty in the South China Sea…The July 12 decision has created a new status quo by clearly defining the legal map of the South China Sea. It found no lawful basis for China’s claims to 85 percent of the South China Sea, delimited by the so-called nine-dash line (More).
Beijing’s South China Sea Moves Vex U.S. Pacific Fleet Chief
Jeremy Page
The Wall Street Journal, August 9, 2016
The commander of U.S. naval forces in the Pacific, Adm. Scott Swift said China had taken several destabilizing steps in the South China Sea—including conducting air patrols and announcing joint drills there with Russia—since a tribunal ruling against Beijing’s maritime claims in July…also cited recent activities by Chinese fishing vessels in the East China Sea and reports that Beijing had erected hangars for military aircraft on artificial islands it has built in the South China Sea…China says the tribunal had no jurisdiction on the case, and Chinese President Xi Jinping has said Beijing won’t accept any proposition or action based on the ruling…Some experts and diplomats see signs that Beijing is starting to escalate its activities in disputed waters. Japan formally protested to China over the weekend, accusing Beijing of installing radar on an offshore gas platform in the East China Sea and of sending fishing and coast-guard vessels into waters around disputed islands there. China says it has sovereignty over the area (More).
After the Ruling: Lawfare in the South China Sea
Carl Thayer
The Diplomat, August 03, 2016
In April 2012, around a then-relatively unknown shoal off the coast of the Philippines’ largest island of Luzon, the Philippine Navy apprehended several Chinese fishing vessels. Though it was not known at the time, this incident at Scarborough Shoal would simmer into a major stand-off between the Philippines and China over the ensuing months, eventually sparking the contemporary period of tension and geopolitical intrigue in the South China Sea… That arbitration, which China refused to participate in, has lingered over the South China Sea in the three-and-half years since. Amid continuing Chinese assertiveness in the region, including island-building in the Spratly group and continued militarization of its Paracel possessions, the resolution of the case loomed large (More).
Southeast Asian Bloc Finds Unity on South China Sea Dispute
Ben Otto
The Wall Street Journal, July 25, 2016
Southeast Asian nations rallied…to form a united position on the South China Sea dispute after weeks of division, but maneuvering by China kept their 10-country bloc from mentioning a legal ruling against Beijing’s sweeping claims in the strategic waters. The outcome let both parties conclude a day of diplomatic meetings on an upbeat note, even if they remained apart on resolving a dispute that has shorn goodwill between several members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their largest trading partner (More).
Parting the South China Sea
Mira Rapp-Hooper
Foreign Affairs, July 22, 2016
July 12, 2016, marked a turning point in the long-standing disputes over the South China Sea. After more than three years of proceedings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration, an international body in The Hague, a tribunal constituted under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) issued a widely anticipated decision in a case the Philippines brought in 2013 to challenge China’s maritime claims to most of the contested waterway… The tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines on almost every count, declaring nearly all of China’s maritime claims in the region invalid under international law. In so doing, the tribunal has brought a substantial amount of new clarity to a number of contentious legal issues and has set precedents that will affect the law of the sea for years to come (More).
Beijing’s South China Sea militarization becoming fait accompli: defense paper
The Japan Times, July 21, 2016
Japan will express its wariness over China’s muscle-flexing in the South China Sea in this year’s defense white paper, warning Beijing’s militarization of the disputed waters is making its territorial claims a fait accompli… The white paper, which the Cabinet is expected to approve early next month, will say China’s activities in the South China Sea could be called high-handed, unilateral action to change the status quo. The outline also says China’s activities are intensifying near the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. China also claims those uninhabited islets, which it calls Diaoyu. It notes that a Chinese navy ship last month sailed in a contiguous zone just outside the territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands (More).
Can ‘The Punisher’ Bring Peace to the Philippines?
Stratfor, July 21, 2016
Newly elected Philippine Pesident Rodrigo Duterte has a hard-earned reputation as a man who can make the guns go silent. During his 22-year stint as the mayor of Davao City, Duterte ruthlessly took on local troublemakers, transforming what was once the country’s murder capital into one of its safest cities. In May, Philippine voters overwhelmingly looked past the human rights abuses that “The Punisher” allegedly employed to get such results, vaulting him to the highest office in the land. As president, Duterte will face much bigger security challenges. And though he may be better positioned than his predecessors to quell the country’s myriad internal security woes, a lasting peace is likely to remain elusive (More).
U.S. Hypocrisy in the South China Sea
Ali Wyne
Foreign Affairs, July 14, 2016
On July 12, in a long-awaited verdict, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled unanimously in favor of the Philippines, which had submitted a 15-point case to the tribunal in January 2013 opposing several of China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. The tribunal agreed with the Philippines that “China had violated the Philippines’s sovereign rights” by building artificial islands and restricting the movements of Filipino petroleum explorers and fishermen within the Philippine’s exclusive economic zone, among other infractions. Most importantly, the tribunal concluded that “there [is] no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the sea areas falling within the ‘nine-dash line,’” a boundary China created by removing two dashes, after a dispute with Vietnam, from the “11-dash line” that first appeared in a 1947 document published by the Chinese nationalist government. It’s an important boundary since most estimates suggest that it envelops 85 to 90 percent of the South China Sea (More).
Why is the South China Sea contentious?
BBC, July 12, 2016
Rival countries have wrangled over territory in the South China Sea for centuries, but tension has steadily increased in recent years. China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei all have competing claims. China has backed its expansive claims with island-building and naval patrols. The US says it does not take sides in territorial disputes, but has sent military ships and planes near disputed islands, calling them “freedom of navigation” operations to ensure access to key shipping and air routes. Both sides have accused each other of “militarising” the South China Sea. There are fears that the area is becoming a flashpoint, with potentially serious global consequences (More).
Raja-Mandala: Drawing a line in the sea
Raja Mohan
The Indian Express, July 12, 2016
China’s rejection of international arbitration raises questions. Delhi’s reaction must focus on need to de-escalate conflict in South China Sea. More than three years ago, the Philippines, which was locked in an escalating territorial dispute with China over the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, decided to go court. China refused to participate in the proceedings at The Hague and called them a “farce”. Beijing has declared it will not accept the ruling from the PCA… China has launched naval exercises in the South China Sea. It has embarked on a massive political campaign to challenge the legitimacy of the arbitration and defend its expansive claims over the South China Sea (More).
Beijing rejects tribunal’s ruling in South China Sea case
Tom Phillips, Oliver Holmes and Owen Bowcott
The Guardian, July 12, 2016
China has said it will not accept a ruling against it in a key international legal case over strategic reefs and atolls that Beijing claims would give it control over disputed waters of the South China Sea. The judgment by an international tribunal in The Hague came down overwhelmingly in favour of claims by the Philippines and is likely to increase global diplomatic pressure on Beijing to scale back military expansion in the area. By depriving certain outcrops of territorial-generating status, the ruling from the permanent court of arbitration effectively punches holes in China’s all-encompassing “nine-dash” line that stretches deep into the South China Sea (More).
The Real Seoul Story
Ashok Malik
Times of India, June 27, 2016
What happened at the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) plenary in Seoul? Much misinformation (even disinformation) is floating around New Delhi and for three reasons. First, the issues are complex and require context, which many may not have. Second, the political opposition to BJP is understandably using the occasion to target the Narendra Modi government and making partial assessments. Third, the Chinese propaganda mechanism has turned much more sophisticated in an intelligent and selective briefing of Indian media. This presents a challenge for India, but that is getting ahead of the story….Why did India apply now? A sympathetic American president is ending his term. His successor may be preoccupied at the time of the next NSG plenary in 2017. In 2018, India will be in election mode and the Modi government may have less leverage. As such, it was 2016 – or it was a kick down the road (More).
China Tells U.S., Don’t Let Allies set South China Sea Policy
Ben Blanchard
Reuters, June 2, 2016
The United States should not decide its policy on the South China Sea based on what its allies think, and should stick to its promises not to take sides in the dispute, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Thursday ahead of Sino-U.S. security talks. China has been angered by what it views as provocative U.S. military patrols close to islands China controls in the South China Sea. The United States says the patrols are to protect freedom of navigation…..Speaking at a forum ahead of next week’s high-level meetings with U.S. officials in Beijing, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang said his country had every right to protect its sovereignty and maritime rights in the South China Sea. “In fact the United States is not a claimant in the South China Sea dispute, and its said it takes no position on territorial disputes,” Zheng said. “So we hope the U.S. can stick to its promises and not choose sides, but can set its position based on the rights and wrongs of the case rather than whether somebody is an ally,” he added (More).
Remarks by President Obama and Prime Minister Abe of Japan at Hiroshima Peace Memorial
May 27, 2016
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Seventy-one years ago, on a bright, cloudless morning, death fell from the sky and the world was changed. A flash of light and a wall of fire destroyed a city and demonstrated that mankind possessed the means to destroy itself. …Why do we come to this place, to Hiroshima? We come to ponder a terrible force unleashed in a not so distant past. We come to mourn the dead, including over 100,000 in Japanese men, women and children; thousands of Koreans; a dozen Americans held prisoner. Their souls speak to us. They ask us to look inward, to take stock of who we are and what we might become (More).
The China Basket
Cyril Almeida
The Dawn, 13 June 2016
One, even as One Belt, One Highway offers historic economic possibilities — and not just the CPEC road and energy stuff — our security-centric world is nudging it towards becoming primarily a security-based project. Two, we seem prematurely willing to ratchet down ties with the US — and wholly closed off to the idea of being a valued and valuable interlocutor between China and the US down the road. Run with the American hare, hunt with the Chinese hound and keep both eyes on India — it should not only be possible, but the goal itself. But the security state seems to have other ideas (More).
A Himalayan balancing act
Nirupama Rao
The Hindu, July 1, 2016
The compass of bilateral relations with China needs to be carefully set by India…The great Himalayan Divide between India and China was in evidence last week following the Chinese refusal to support India’s case for entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group. While non-entry into the Group is not the end of the world, for India lives to fight another day, of concern is what the Chinese stance implies for the bilateral relationship between the two Asian giants. This is a relationship that has been assiduously tended over the years since the mid-seventies when ambassadorial relations between the two countries were restored at the initiative of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Despite the humiliation suffered in 1962, she famously opined that “we cannot march to Peking” and that normalisation of relations constituted the triumph of maturity over the futility of alienation (More).
Raja-Mandala: Modi govt’s renewed efforts for NSG membership are worth following
C. Raja Mohan
The Indian Express, June 28, 2016
The Narendra Modi government is not easily rattled by disapproving noises. China says it does not like India’s song about joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group. But India has rightly decided to play it again. Undeterred by Chinese opposition in Seoul, India is getting ready for Vienna, where the NSG might meet in a special session to consider India’s membership later this year… The Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations, working with Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi, explored ways to resolve the irreconcilable contradiction between a non-proliferation regime built around the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and an India that can’t sign the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon state (More).
Why Chabahar Deal is a Rebellion Against History
Praveen Swami
The Indian Express, May 27, 2016
Few in India have fully grasped the radical ambition that underlies Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to sign on to the $ 500 million project to transform the small Iranian port of Chabahar into a hub for Indian business. …The deal, signed in Tehran this week, will see India financing the construction of a $ 85 million port, building aluminum and urea plants, and underwriting the construction of a railway line to link it to Iran’s network. It is, for India, far more than a geostrategic gambit — it is, in fact, a revolt against history (More).
China to Send Nuclear-Armed Submarines into Pacific Amid Tensions with US
Julian Borger
The Guardian, May 26, 2016
The Chinese military is poised to send submarines armed with nuclear missiles into the Pacific Ocean for the first time, arguing that new US weapons systems have so undermined Beijing’s existing deterrent force that it has been left with no alternative….Chinese military officials are not commenting on the timing of a maiden patrol, but insist the move is inevitable….They point to plans unveiled in March to station the US Thaad anti-ballistic system in South Korea, and the development of hypersonic glide missiles potentially capable of hitting China less than an hour after launch, as huge threats to the effectiveness of its land-based deterrent force (More).
NDA at 2: Modi’s Unexpected Successes in Foreign Policy
Ashley J Tellis
The Hindustan Times, May 25, 2016
Exactly two years ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi surprised both Indian and foreign observers by inviting the South Asian heads of government to his swearing-in. For a leader who had barely uttered a word about foreign policy during his election campaign, this dramatic and welcome gesture presaged the first of many foreign policy surprises that Modi would unveil….Viewed at the two-year mark of his term in office, Modi’s foreign policy achievements have been outstanding. Some of his initiatives have admittedly fallen short, the attempted rapprochement with Pakistan being a conspicuous example. But even this exception does not besmirch the larger record. More than anything else, it signals India’s return to a sensible activism in fashioning the world about it and, just as importantly, is driven boldly by the imperative of securing India’s interests first (More).
Japan Enters South China Sea Dispute
Yoichi Funabashi
Asia Sentinel, May 24, 2016
In the coming months, the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague is set to issue its judgment on the case brought by the Philippines that challenges China’s claims in the South China Sea. Beijing appears to be anticipating an unfavorable ruling and is reaffirming its stance on the illegitimacy of the UN tribunal……Mindful of its own tensions with Beijing in the East China Sea, and of the importance of avoiding a split between Asia and the Pacific, Tokyo is now stepping forward to take the lead in strengthening policy coordination on maritime security. Japan is pioneering a civilian power approach that may offer an alternative to military solutions….With financial backing from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, or JICA, the nation is trying to strengthen the region’s civilian law-enforcement apparatus. One major initiative is a new master’s program in “Maritime Safety and Security Policy,” jointly administered by the Japan Coast Guard, JCG, and the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (More).
Emerging Flashpoints in the Himalayas
P. Stobdan
IDSA Issue Brief, May 18, 2016
Flashpoints in the Himalayan region are rising. The US Defence Department has expressed caution about China’s increased troops build-up along the Indian border as well as the likelihood of China establishing “additional naval logistic hubs” in Pakistan.1 From the Chinese perspective, the spectre of jihadi terrorism is spreading across Xinjiang province. The monks in Tibet continue to resist China’s military suppression. Pakistan, for its part, continues to sponsor terrorism in Kashmir with China’s tacit support. In Nepal, the vortex of the political crisis refuses to stop….At the root of most of the troubles on the Indian side is the Tibetan standoff. For years, the subtlety of Lamaism – the main powerhouse of Tibetan politics – has taken an intricate sectarian context. Tension that has been festering around it for decades is now getting murkier and complex by the day, and this is clearly happening not without Chinese prompting (More).
Indian Defence Research and Development (R&D): Transitioning from ‘Make in India’ to ‘Made in India’
Arun Vishwanathan
Synergy: Journal of the Center for Joint Warfare Studies, December 2015, pp. 45-62.
Currently about 60% of India’s defence equipment is procured from abroad. There are imminent risks of such a situation to India’s national security as seen during the 1965, 1971 Indo-Pak Wars and 1999 Kargil conflict. The success of the “Make in India” programme is critical to increase the share of defence equipment produced within the country. International arms suppliers are however unlikely to undertake complete transfer of technology especially in critical materials and technologies…The article argues that in the long term, there is no alternative to strengthening domestic defence research and development (R&D) if the larger objective of increasing self-reliance in defence has to be met. The article flags three bottlenecks which need to be done away with in order to strengthen India’s domestic R&D efforts. These include adequate long-term funding for research & development; augmentation of national capacity and capability to support R&D efforts; and compressing development timelines and ensuring quicker induction of the platform into the Services in large numbers (More).
The Fusion of Civilizations: The Case for Global Optimism
Kishore Mahbubani and Lawrence H. Summers
Foreign Affairs, May/June 2016
By most objective measures of human well-being, the past three decades have been the best in history. More and more people in more and more places are enjoying better lives than ever before. Nor is this an accident—because despite Samuel Huntington’s foreboding, what has occurred over recent generations is not a clash of civilizations but a fusion of civilizations. ..To put it simply, the great world civilizations, which used to have detached and separate identities, now have increasingly overlapping areas of commonality. Most people around the world now have the same aspirations as the Western middle classes: they want their children to get good educations, land good jobs, and live happy, productive lives as members of stable, peaceful communities. Instead of feeling depressed, the West should be celebrating its phenomenal success at injecting the key elements of its worldview into other great civilizations. (More)
What a Clinton or Trump presidency means for Singapore
Charissa Yong
Strait Times, May 15, 2016
If there is a far and away best person in the White House to give Singapore an easier time, it would be Mrs Hillary Clinton. The Democratic front runner has championed a stronger role for the US around the world, which dovetails with Singapore’s desire for an American presence in the region to balance against China. Going by the presumptive Republican nominee’s speeches on the campaign trail so far, the 69-year-old looks set to turn America’s attention away from foreign relations to focus on home. Or he may rock the boat and shake up the United States’ ties with key players such as China and Japan. (More)
Obama’s visit to Hiroshima
Editorial
The Japan Times, May 11, 2016
The upcoming visit to Hiroshima by U.S. President Barack Obama — the first by a sitting president of the sole country in the world to have used nuclear weapons in warfare to the city that experienced the first nuclear attack in history 71 years ago — will be significant if it indeed serves to rebuild the momentum for efforts to create a world free of nuclear arms, which Obama himself advocated at the beginning of his presidency (More).
Raja Mandala: Message from the Maha Kumbh
Raja Mohan
Indian Express, May 10, 2016
Delhi and its diplomatic establishment took a somewhat bemused and detached view of this growing spiritual engagement between India and the world. Prime Minister Modi, however, appears to have taken a conscious decision to integrate religion into India’s diplomacy. In the last two years, he has taken a number of steps in this direction. His worship at the Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu and prayers at a Buddhist temple in Kyoto during 2014 were, at once, acts of personal religiosity and part of a conscious strategy to deepen the links with the people of these countries. His decision to invite the visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the Ganga worship in Varanasi last year and the invitations to the presidents of Nepal and Sri Lanka to join the Maha Kumbh celebrations in Ujjain this week are one part of the unfolding story of religion and the new Indian diplomacy. The diplomatic campaign to get the United Nations to declare June 21 as the International Yoga Day is another. (More)
Raja-Mandala: Trading places
Raja Mohan,
Indian Express, March 9, 2016
India has long irritated its international interlocutors by its penchant for “public diplomacy”. What we mean by public diplomacy here is somewhat different from the current usage of the term — about informing and influencing public opinion at home and abroad. It used to be called “propaganda” in the old days. Our reference here is to the style of public argumentation that marked India’s engagement with the world over the decades. New Delhi’s mandarins privileged public posturing over tough but outcome-oriented negotiating strategies…..In the last few months though, Delhi and Washington have begun to trade places. Delhi now speaks a lot less in public and Washington can’t stop talking. If Indian media complains that official Delhi doesn’t keep them in the loop, Washington is trying to conduct negotiations with India through the Indian media…… As the question of joint patrols gains salience every day in the South China Sea, Delhi and Washington certainly need intensive consultations on how to deal with Beijing’s forward policy in Asia’s waters. But America’s needless public diplomacy has only complicated Indian decision-making on the subject (Read More)
China’s Sweeping Military Reform
Editorial
The Japan Times, March 8, 2016
China has embarked on a major reform of its armed forces at a time when it is stepping up its maritime military presence, as exemplified by its recent deployment of surface-to-air missiles and radar on one of the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. China says that it will maintain its “defensive national defense policy.” But these moves are certain to raise suspicions among its regional neighbors as well as the United States. Beijing needs to explain in plain terms how these moves can be compatible with what it claims to be “defensive” defense policy. It also needs to make its defense spending more transparent by presenting its weapons procurement programs in concrete terms. A lack of clear explanations on the part of China will only raise tensions with other nations (Read More).
Eurasia’s Coming Anarchy
Robert D. Kaplan
Foreign Affairs, March/April 2016
As China asserts itself in its nearby seas and Russia wages war in Syria and Ukraine, it is easy to assume that Eurasia’s two great land powers are showing signs of newfound strength. But the opposite is true: increasingly, China and Russia flex their muscles not because they are powerful but because they are weak. ……In China and Russia, it is domestic insecurity that is breeding belligerence. This marks a historical turning point: for the first time since the Berlin Wall fell, the United States finds itself in a competition among great powers….Economic conditions in both China and Russia are steadily worsening. Ever since energy prices collapsed in 2014, Russia has been caught in a serious recession. China, meanwhile, has entered the early stages of what promises to be a tumultuous transition away from double-digit annual GDP growth; the stock market crashes it experienced in the summer of 2015 and January 2016 will likely prove a mere foretaste of the financial disruptions to come (Read More).
DPRK’s Nuclear Defiance Means Sunset for Sunshine Policy
Aidan Foster-Carter
East Asia Forum 8 March 2016
North Korea’s relations with the wider world have taken a tangible turn for the worse. Pyongyang’s double whammy of a nuclear test on 6 January 2016 followed by a satellite launch on 7 February 2016 was arguably nothing new. The Kim regime has conducted both kinds of tests regularly for a decade, each time condemned and sanctioned by the UN Security Council (UNSC). There was no reason to hope Kim Jong-un was about to change his spots…. The difference now is that two major interlocutors have lost patience. South Korea and the United States have had enough of North Korea’s recidivism. Seoul surprised everyone, including Pyongyang, by shutting the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) — the last remaining inter-Korean joint venture, just north of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) (Read More).
Australia’s 2016 Defense White Paper: forward funded defense
Euan Graham
PacNet #23, CSIS, March 01, 2016
If one word can sum up the 2016 Australian Defence White Paper (DWP 2016), it is “forward.” The document is more “forward” than its predecessors in terms of projected funding commitments and the dizzying time-scales and costs involved in delivering complex platforms like submarines and frigates. More controversially, since ‘forward defence’ has Vietnam-era connotations in Australia, it also signals a more geographically forward defence posture and pattern of engagement in the region. An upfront commitment by the Coalition government to inject an extra $30 billion into Australia’s defence budget by 2025 goes a long way toward pre-empting the most vital criticism of previous white papers – they lacked credibility because ends were divorced from means. By joining the capability dots to dollar signs, and ramping up defence spending, DWP 2016 should be recognized as a serious effort to prioritize defence funding beyond Australia’s short election cycle. This is no small political commitment by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s government as it goes into an election this year and faces an uncertain economic outlook (Read More).
NLD’s Ethnic Nominees Lauded as Step Toward National Reconciliation
San Yamin Aung
The Irrawaddy, March 10, 2016
The National League for Democracy’s (NLD) nominations for the presidency have been commended for promoting national reconciliation. On Thursday morning, ethnic Burman-Mon Htin Kyaw and ethnic Chin Henry Van Thio were revealed as the NLD’s nominees for the presidency. The two men will be put to a vote in the Union Parliament, along with a nominee from the military, who has not yet been named. The winner will become Burma’s president and the other two will be the vice presidents.
“I am happy and grateful that they nominated an ethnic Chin for the presidency,” said Paw Lian Lwin, former Upper House lawmaker from the Chin National Democratic Party (CNDP). “We have been forgotten for more than five decades and have become the most underdeveloped area,” he added, referring to Chin State, Burma’s most impoverished. Paw Lian Lwin said the NLD’s selections would bring greater ethnic unity under the new government, which assumes power in April (Read More).
Asean Autonomy Key as China’s Reach Grows
Goh Sui Noi,
Strait Times, February 26, 2016
Two developments in the past two weeks have had the South-east Asian region and the United States all worked up about China and its intentions in the South China Sea. First off, last week, US broadcaster Fox News released satellite images of two batteries of a surface-to-air missile system on Woody Island in the Chinese-controlled Paracel chain, which is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan….Then on Monday, the American think-tank Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published a report saying that China was possibly installing high-frequency radar on Cuarteron Reef in the Spratlys, another disputed chain of islands, to the south-east of the Paracels….Alarmist as these claims sound, they point to China’s incremental reach in the region militarily, dubbed salami-slicing by some, that includes the artificial island-building on several reefs in the Spratlys that began in earnest in December 2013 and the likely installation of defence equipment on these islands in the months and years to come (More).
Raja Mandala: Akhand Bharat and Other Stories
Raja Mohan
January 5, 2016, The Hindu
Some ideas come with heavy political baggage. Others come with unacceptable authorship. “Akhand Bharat” seems doubly handicapped. It’s associated with the RSS and generates fears of Hindutva hegemony across the subcontinent. But the essence of the idea — the unity of the subcontinent — is likely to endure. The problem is with different conceptions of that unity…Three decades after the formation of the Saarc, there is much support for the idea of restoring the “historical unity of our common living space” as the journal Himal Southasian, founded in Kathmandu by Kanak Mani Dixit, affirms. Dixit and other regionalists lament the fact that the subcontinent is the least integrated region of the world. They are not, of course, seeking to undo the state system in the subcontinent but to promote greater cooperation through regional, sub-regional and transregional mechanisms. (Read More)
Suu Kyi’s Silence and Myanmar’s Future
Steven M. Keithley
January 4, 2016, The Strait Times
When Ms Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) defeated the Tatmadaw-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party by a landslide, it seemed as if the villages, which broke the Japanese, expelled the British and kept a globally-unpopular regime in power for two decades, finally shifted their allegiance. With such overwhelming support, it seemed obvious that Ms Suu Kyi’s time to act with reformist vigour had finally come…..Yet, the people of Myanmar have heard little since. When considered alongside the few indications which have been given of the future, it appears likely that, when Parliament is seated later this year, it will not be led by the revolutionary denied power in 1990, but by a pragmatic conservative Myanmar does not need in 2016. (Read More)
How China Sees Russia
Fu Ying
January/February 2016, Foreign Affairs
At a time when Russian relations with the United States and western European countries are growing cold, the relatively warm ties between China and Russia have attracted renewed interest. Scholars and journalists in the West find themselves debating the nature of the Chinese-Russian partnership and wondering whether it will evolve into an alliance. The Chinese-Russian relationship is a stable strategic partnership and by no means a marriage of convenience: it is complex, sturdy, and deeply rooted. Changes in international relations since the end of the Cold War have only brought the two countries closer together. Some Western analysts and officials have speculated (and perhaps even hoped) that the ongoing conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, in which Russia has become heavily involved, would lead to tensions between Beijing and Moscow—or even a rupture. But that has not happened. (Read More)
Rocket Force to Protect National Interests
January 05, 2016, China Daily
At an official ceremony of the People’s Liberation Army on Dec 31, top leader Xi Jinping, conferred military flags on the general command of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force. The Second Artillery Force, founded in 1966 as China’s core strategic deterrent force, has been officially renamed and promoted as one of the four army units of the PLA. “It was mainly for secrecy reasons that China named its first missile force Second Artillery Force in 1966,” says Shao Yongling, a professor at the PLA Rocket Force Commanding Academy, which was known as the SAF Commanding Academy. “But the SAF was not very different from other artillery forces of the time. Its shooting range was hundreds of kilometers, and it served as a supporting force of the army .” Moreover, most of the first SAF officers and soldiers were later shifted out of the artillery force. (Read More)
Modi Meets World
Indrani Bagchi
December 31, 2015, Times of India
Until Narendra Modi played Santa Claus with Nawaz Sharif, his 2015 would have been another hectic peripatetic year signing off with an inspiring speech to the new Afghan parliament. Modi’s ‘inbox’ for 2016 is now filling up rapidly, defying all good intentions to stay home next year.But first, his ‘outbox’. In a year when Modi zipped around the world but attracted some flak at home for being a ‘tourist’, a few things in his foreign policy went much beyond the measurement of investment billions his people throw around….India showed unusual dexterity in utilising a narrow diplomatic window to engage Gulf Arab states. Modi, during his August visit to the UAE, positioned India as an attractive alternative for these sheikhdoms to embrace a new paradigm, weaning them away from the Islamist sauce sold by Pakistan. If places like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Doha and Muscat want to become more like Singapore they need to cast off some old thinking. India is a promising harbour. (Read More)
Philippines to join China’s AIIB
December 30, 2015, Bangkok Post
The Philippines is set to join the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, describing it as a “promising institution” that could help accelerate the country’s economic growth… for the Philippines, the AIIB “will augment and complement existing multilateral institutions in accelerating economic growth,” Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said in a statement. (Read More)
Japan and the ‘Maritime Pivot’ to Southeast Asia
Koh Swee Lean Collin
December 14, 2015, The Diplomat
“Japan should not be the weak link in the regional and global security framework where the U.S. plays a leading role… we must be a net contributor to the provision of the world’s welfare and security.” So proclaimed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a speech back in September 2013, adding that “Japan will contribute to the peace and stability of the region and the world even more proactively than before.”… Japan has gone deeper westwards, into the Indian Ocean region, and even further afield into the Caribbean for example. But nowhere else have Japan’s maritime security capacity-building assistance programs been as extensive as they are in Southeast Asia. Some of the beneficiaries in the region are the Philippines and Vietnam which, like Japan in the East China Sea, have their fair share of problems with Beijing in the South China Sea. (Read More)
Presidents of China and Taiwan Shake Hands in First Ever Meeting
Austin Ramzynov
The New York Times, November 07, 2015
President Xi Jinping of China shook hands with Ma Ying-jeou, the president of Taiwan, in the first ever meeting of the neighbors and longtime rivals, an act both sides described as a breakthrough gesture meant to promote peace and mutual prosperity…It was the first meeting of the leader of the Republic of China, more commonly called Taiwan, and the leader of the People’s Republic of China. The two governments have been rivals since 1949, when Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Chinese Nationalists, fled to Taiwan after losing a civil war to Mao’s Communists, who established the People’s Republic of China that year. Those two leaders last met in 1945. (Read More)
Why South Korea Will Stay Out of the South China Sea
Stratfor, November 06, 2015
Several countries have been courting an increasingly active Japan to support them in asserting their maritime rights in the South China Sea against China’s expanding presence. But South Korea may be slow to follow Japan’s example. Though the waters off the southeast Chinese coast are a vital trade route for South Korea, as they are for other surrounding countries, committing military force there would risk hurting the country’s close trade relationship with China. That is a risk South Korea may not be ready to take, especially since it would mean throwing its lot in with its historical colonizer, Japan. (Read More)
Joint Declaration Signing at Asean Defence Meeting Scrapped
Koi Kye Le,
New Straits Times Online, November 04, 2015
The planned joint declaration signing between defence chiefs at the Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) has been scrapped. Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said a consensus could not be reached among the participating nations, but did not elaborate further. He said Asean had decided not come out with the joint declaration, adding that there were other avenues to address issues of contention. (Read More)
Raja-Mandala: Why Delhi Must Not be at Sea
C. Raja Mohan
The Indian Express, November 3, 2015
Under a so-called nine-dash line, China claims almost the whole of the South China Sea, dismissing claims to parts of it from Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. China’s recent aggressive land reclamation and construction projects on several reefs have spread alarm among its Southeast Asian neighbours….The Philippines and others in the region like Vietnam, which are at the receiving end of Beijing’s assertiveness in the South China Sea, hope that the legal discourse in The Hague might help put Beijing a little bit on the defensive….The region has welcomed Delhi’s expanding interest in South China Sea issues in recent years. The UPA government had begun to raise its voice in favour of freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, as well as urging Beijing to resolve its territorial disputes peacefully. (Read More)
The Lady’s Challengers
Francis Wade
Foreign Affairs, November 6, 2015
On a Saturday in late October, a convoy of taxis snaked its way through a small village 12 miles south of Yangon. In one of the jeeps, Myanmar’s opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, waved to the crowds that lined the roadsides. Onlookers responded with cheers. Once onstage, Suu Kyi articulated her vision for the country, one that looked beyond the nationwide elections on November 8. She wanted to create more jobs, improve the infrastructure, and empower citizens. It’s a vision that all parties here espouse, but only Suu Kyi, known as “the Lady,” has anything close to a monopoly on the people’s trust. This is reflected in the feverish excitement that follows her wherever she goes. (Read More)
Tinkerer in chief: One Year of Economic Leadership under Joko Widodo
Matthew Busch
November 05, 2015
High-priced staple goods and a sputtering economy have dampened voters’ approval of the president – down from over 70% last year to just above 50% in October 2015. Once a down-to-earth, social-media-friendly candidate who enraptured voters and commentators, Widodo has often seemed flat-footed and overwhelmed by politics. Discarding the more cosmopolitan leanings of predecessor SBY, Widodo has emphasised everyday ‘kitchen table’ issues. He has expanded health and education access, especially for his core constituency of rural, poor voters, while reacting to economic headwinds facing Indonesia. (Read More)
Tensions Rising in South China Sea
The Japan Times, November1, 2015
A U.S. Navy warship sailed inside the 12-nautical-mile limit of an artificial island built by China in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea last week to demonstrate the right of freedom of navigation in international waters. The United States is expected to regularly conduct this type of naval operation in the area. China strongly reacted by saying that the U.S. warship “illegally” entered waters near “islands and reefs of China’s Nansha (Spratly) Islands” and called the maneuver “extremely irresponsible.” Two Chinese warships followed the U.S. destroyer and issued warnings. The U.S. action has heightened tensions between the two countries. Washington and Beijing should exercise self-restraint to prevent an unanticipated incident that could escalate into a military confrontation. (Read More)
What Lies in the South China Sea
David Feith
The Wall Street Journal, October 13, 2015
The U.S. and China are headed for a showdown at sea. U.S. officials say that within days the U.S. military will conduct “freedom of navigation” patrols to challenge Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea’s strategic Spratly archipelago. That area lies more than 700 miles off China’s coast, between Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, but China’s government has warned that it is “seriously concerned” about U.S. action and “will absolutely not permit any country to infringe on China’s territorial waters.” (Read More)
A Resumption of Six-Party Talks on North Korea Long Overdue
Editorial
The Asahi Shimbum, October 13, 2015
North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party marked its 70th anniversary on Oct. 10 with an extravagant ceremony that featured one of the largest military parades held in Pyongyang, the nation’s capital…On the other hand, Pyongyang also sent a conciliatory message to Washington immediately before the anniversary. It officially proposed to replace the armistice that ended the Korean War (1950-1953) with a peace treaty….This conciliatory gesture toward the United States, which was the first of this kind in a while, is probably more reflective of the Kim regime’s true intentions than the saber-rattling and chest pounding at the military parade. (Read More)
Operation Malabar: A Warning to China
Srikanth Kondapalli
Rediff.com, October 12, 2015
From October 12 to 19, a high-level trilateral exercise between the naval forces of India, the United States and Japan will be held in the Bay of Bengal as a part of the extended Malabar Exercises.….The exercise acquires political significance and legitimacy as it is a follow-up to the first foreign ministerial meeting at New York on September 29 between these three countries. All three nations had seven meetings by June 2015 at the joint secretary level since 2011, but decided to elevate the coordination. (Read More)
Challenging times for S’pore-Indonesia ties
Barry Desker
The Straits Times, October 13, 2015,
Generally excellent bilateral ties during the years when President Suharto led Indonesia from 1967 to 1998 have been followed by more challenging interactions as Singapore adjusted to the rise of populist democracy in Indonesia.…..As hotly contested regional elections are set to take place in Indonesia in December, there is a risk that Singapore will be a target of criticism in provincial and district (kabupaten) electoral campaigns in Sumatra….A younger generation of Internet-savvy Indonesians are also likely to take nationalistic postures and criticism of Singapore risks going viral. (Read More)
Where’s India on the Trans-Pacific Partnership?
Alyssa Ayres
Asia Unbound, October 6, 2015
The United States and eleven other countries have concluded negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade pact that will cover 40 percent of global trade spanning Asia and the Pacific Rim, including some Latin American countries. It represents a subset of the countries in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, and one can anticipate that other APEC members may elect to join the TPP in the future……So where is India? India has not yet indicated whether it has interest in pursuing TPP membership down the line. This is because no clear consensus has formed in India on whether expanded market access will help the Indian economy grow, and whether the gains will be worth the potential costs to some still-protected Indian industries. (Read More)
Myanmar Government Seeks to Calm Fears of Election Postponement
Thomas Fuller and Wai Moe
The New York Times, October 13, 2015
A proposal to postpone elections in Myanmar caused an outcry among democratic forces on Tuesday, and the government then issued a public reassurance that the voting would take place as scheduled on Nov. 8. The fear and confusion over a possible delay reflected the democracy movement’s underlying mistrust of the military establishment, including the bureaucracy and the government of President Thein Sein. (Read More)
